Baylor-Norvell House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Baylor-Norvell House in Aransas County. Now, there are houses, and then there are houses. This one sits right on the waterfront in a community that has survived many hurricanes, and if those walls could talk, they'd have a whole lot to say.

Dr. John W. Baylor built it about 1868, and the man was not one for sitting still.

He ran a medical practice, owned a local meat packing business, ranched, and on top of all that, he worked to bring a railroad to the county. One man, several careers, one sturdy house on the water. That's a certain kind of Texas ambition right there.

Then, in 1888, a pair of schoolteachers named Elisha and Irene Norvell came rolling in from Goliad, bound for Rockport, and they took up renting the place. Elisha, born in 1857, and Irene, born in 1865, had their eyes open, because two years after moving in, in 1890, they bought it outright. Smart move.

Elisha didn't stop at teaching, either. He worked as an agent for the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad and built himself a second life as a realtor. Irene, for her part, was a musician, and you can almost hear something faint and lovely drifting off that waterfront porch if the wind is right.

Irene Norvell, who lived until 1944, was the one who finally sold the house, back in 1935. Elisha had passed in 1933. So the house that a restless doctor built on a hurricane-battered shoreline outlasted them all, and it's still standing right there on the water, doing what it has always done, holding its ground.

What the marker says

Located on the waterfront in a community that has survived many hurricanes, this house was built about 1868 by Dr. John W. Baylor. In addition to his medical practice Dr. Baylor owned a local meat packing business, ranched, and worked to bring a railroad to the county. Schoolteachers Elisha (1857-1933) and Irene (1865-1944) Norvell moved to Rockport from Goliad in 1888 and rented the house before buying it in 1890. Elisha also worked as an agent for the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad and was a realtor. Irene, a musician, sold the house in 1935. (1991)