DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how Duane tells it back to you. In Canton, Van Zandt County, there's a house that has a particular kind of staying power. They call it the oldest house in Canton, and once you hear the story, that reputation makes a whole lot of sense.
It was built in 1886, put up for Henry F. Blackwell the Second and his wife Nannie Jane. Henry wasn't just a man with a nice house.
He was an early merchant in Canton, and he also served as county sheriff. So this was a household that had its hands in the life of the town from the very beginning. And the house reflected that.
Eight children grew up inside those walls. Eight. The place had to have felt alive every single hour of every single day.
Over the years, many alterations and changes were made, several rooms added, the house growing and shifting the way a family home tends to do when it's got to keep up with the people living in it. What's remarkable, though, is who kept on living in it. Blackwell family members occupied that house continuously until 1975.
Not a gap, not a pause, just generation after generation holding on to what Henry and Nannie Jane had built. Then, in 1988, descendants of those original occupants donated the house to the city of Canton. They let it go, but they let it go to the whole town.
The oldest house in Canton, given back to Canton. That's not an ending. That's a legacy finding its right address.
What the marker says
Known as the oldest house in Canton, this residence was built for Henry F. Blackwell, II, and his wife Nannie Jane Blackwell. An early merchant in Canton, Blackwell also served as county sheriff. Records state the house was built in 1886, and was home to the Blackwells and their eight children. Many alterations and changes were made to the house through the years, and several rooms were added. Continuously occupied by Blackwell family members until 1975, the house was donated to the city of Canton by descendants of the original occupants in 1988. (1996)