Armstrong-Adams House

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and here's how I'm going to tell it to you. Somewhere along the road into Salado, Bell County, there stands a house that has seen more than its share of the healing arts. The story starts with Dr.

David H. Armstrong and his wife Julia, who set about building their home between 1869 and 1872. Now, Dr.

Armstrong was no ordinary resident of Salado. He served as one of the first trustees of the Salado public free schools, which tells you something about the kind of man he was. Not content to tend to bodies alone, he had a hand in tending to minds as well.

And the house he and Julia built reflects that same sense of dignity and purpose. It follows what's called a central cottage plan, and whoever drew up those plans had an eye for something lasting. There's a Classical portico over the entryway, supported by Doric piers, the kind of architectural touch that says: this place was meant to endure.

Greek Revival style, if you want the proper term. The kind of front that makes you stand up a little straighter just walking toward it. Now, the Armstrongs wouldn't be the last to call it home.

Over the years the house became a residence for a succession of Salado doctors. Dr. D.G.

Adams came through. Dr. J.E.

Guthrie came through. One doctor after another, as if the house itself had taken up the profession. There's something about that, a home that keeps drawing healers to its doors, generation after generation, in a small Texas town.

The Armstrong-Adams House is still standing, still wearing those Doric piers like a quiet declaration. Some buildings just know what they are.

What the marker says

Dr. David H. Armstrong, who served as one of the first trustees of the Salado public free schools, and his wife, Julia, built this home between 1869 and 1872. It later became the residence of a succession of Salado doctors, including Dr. D.G. Adams and Dr. J.E. Guthrie. The central cottage plan residence features elements of the Greek Revival style, such as the Classical portico with Doric piers over the entryway. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985