Amos-Godbey House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some houses just stand there. And then some houses have a story worth stoppin' for.

The Amos-Godbey House, right here in Williamson County, is one of the second kind. It goes back to 1909, when the C.S. Belford Lumber Company built this place.

Right from the start, it was home to a man of learning. Martin C. Amos, a professor of German over at Southwestern University, moved his family in and made it theirs.

Amos passed away in 1911, and the house passed on to another chapter. Another member of the Southwestern University faculty came along, a chemistry professor named John Campbell Godbey, who purchased the home and, here's the part that'll get you, he stayed. He lived in that house until 1965.

Think about what that means for a place. One institution of learning, two professors, one home. Now, what does this house actually look like, you ask?

Well, it's got a gambrel roof, that distinctive shape that sweeps out wide before it peaks, and a three-bay inset front porch held up by stone piers. The kind of details that tell you someone cared about the building of it from the very first nail. The C.S.

Belford Lumber Company put up something that two scholars were proud to call home, and Williamson County was proud enough to designate it a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1988. Some houses just stand there. This one holds its ground.

What the marker says

Built in 1909 by the C.S. Belford Lumber Company, this was originally the home of Southwestern University German professor Martin C. Amos (d. 1911) and his family. It was later purchased by another member of the University faculty, chemistry professor John Campbell Godbey, who lived here until 1965. Features of the home include a gambrel roof and three-bay inset front porch with stone piers. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1988.