Bennett-Richardson House

Duane's take

The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just here to pass it along. Now, some houses just sit on a lot and do their job. And then some houses make a statement.

The Bennett-Richardson House in Grayson County, it made a statement. The year was 1902, and a man named Bland Bennett, a local business leader, had this residence built for his family. His wife was Grace, born a Dunlap, and together they had a home that announced itself before you ever reached the front door.

And what a front door it was. The place went up in the Victorian and classical revival style, which is a fancy way of saying whoever drew up those plans had opinions, strong ones. You had a one-story wraparound porch, and at the primary entrance, a pedimented top, that triangular crown that says: yes, this is the door that matters.

The roofline spread out in a hipped shape, and the chimneys, well, they were corbelled, meaning they stepped out in layers as they rose, like they were putting on airs all the way to the sky. Step inside, and the floor plan had a little identity of its own going on too. It sat somewhere between a center passage layout and an American foursquare, what the marker calls transitional, reminiscent of both.

It couldn't quite commit to one tradition or the other, and honestly, that's part of the charm. The Bennetts' house carried their name through the decades, and then in 1942, the H. S.

Richardson family purchased it. A new name on the deed, but the wraparound porch didn't change. The corbelled chimneys didn't change.

The house just kept right on standing there, doing what it had been doing since 1902. Designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1991, and if those chimneys could talk, they'd probably say: we knew we'd earned it.

What the marker says

This residence was built in 1902 for the family of local business leader Bland Bennett and Grace (Dunlap) Bennett. Exhibiting Victorian and classical revival detailing, its prominent features include a 1-story wraparound porch with a pedimented primary entrance, a hipped roof, and corbelled chimneys. Its transitional floor plan is reminiscent of both center passage and American foursquare plans. The H. S. Richardson family purchased the house in 1942. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991