DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Birchfield-McCown House in Brazoria County. Now settle in, because this one's got a storm in it. A.
J. Birchfield built this house in 1894 — and right from the start, that tells you something about the man. He was the first editor of the Alvin Sun, the kind of fellow who chose words for a living, and when it came time to build, he chose timber and craftsmanship and twelve whole rooms of Victorian structure.
Twelve rooms. That's not a house, friend, that's a statement. Now, a house like that, solid and proud on the Texas coastal plain, it attracts a certain kind of attention.
Leading townspeople came to own it over the years — the Greer family, the Carleton family, the Finger family, and the McCown family — names that carried weight in the community. But here's where the story gets its teeth. The year 1900.
You know the one. That famed coastal hurricane came roaring in off the Gulf, and when the wind started howling and the water started rising, people needed somewhere to go. They needed walls that wouldn't flinch.
They needed that twelve-room Victorian structure that A. J. Birchfield had built six years prior.
More than a hundred people found refuge inside those walls. Over a hundred souls, riding out one of the most storied storms ever to hit the Texas coast — and the house kept every last one of them safe. Some buildings outlast their builders by standing long enough.
This one earned its place by standing firm when it mattered most.
What the marker says
Built by A. J. Birchfield, first editor of Alvin "Sun", 1894. Often a storm refuge, house kept over 100 safe in famed 1900 coastal hurricane. Leading townspeople -- Greer, Carleton, Finger, and McCown families -- have owned this 12-room Victorian structure. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972