Burkett House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Burkett House in Eastland County. Now settle in, because this one's got roots, literally. Back in 1900, Joe Burkett, his brother, and his father went out and discovered something.

A pecan tree. Not just any pecan tree, mind you, but the original Burkett pecan tree, and the three of them cultivated it together. That tree put the Burkett name on the map in a way that outlasted any deed or title.

Joe himself was no idle man. He was a school teacher, a county official, and a state legislator, the kind of fellow who kept busy no matter what season it was. And when the time came to settle into something permanent, he and his wife Fannye Pullig Burkett built themselves a home.

They started in 1919 and finished it up in 1920, and the place came with a large farm lot and outbuildings spreading out around it, the way a proper Texas homestead ought to. The house itself was a Foursquare, solid and honest, standing the way Joe Burkett probably stood. But time and new ownership have a way of having opinions.

Come the 1930s, new owners took a shine to the Romantic period revival styles that were popular in that era and set about modifying the place. When they were done, what you saw was a stucco finish, a low hipped tile roof with overhanging eaves, a front porch, and a porte cochere. All of it leaning toward a Spanish Colonial Revival appearance, which is a long way from a Foursquare, but that's the thing about a well-built house.

It can wear more than one story. The tree, the teacher, the legislator, and the house that wore two different faces. Not a bad legacy for one Eastland County family to leave behind.

What the marker says

Joe Burkett, who with his brother and father discovered and cultivated the original Burkett pecan tree in 1900, was a school teacher, county official, and state legislator. He and his wife Fannye Pullig Burkett built this home in 1919 and 1920. It originally included a large farm lot with outbuildings. The Foursquare house was modified by new owners in the 1930s to reflect the Romantic period revival styles popular in that era. The stucco finish, low hipped tile roof with overhanging eaves, front porch, and porte cochere contribute to the home's Spanish Colonial Revival appearance. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998