Cage Home

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Cage Home in Erath County. Now, some houses just sit there. This one has a story behind every brick.

It starts in 1876, when a man named J. H. Cage, merchant, rancher, and banker, bought this property and moved his family into whatever house was already standing on the land.

That's a man who knew how to get things done. He didn't wait on new construction. He moved his people in and got on with living.

And J. H. Cage kept on living, and working, and building a life in Erath County, right up until 1912, when he passed.

Now here's where the story takes a turn most folks wouldn't see coming. After his death, his children didn't just grieve and settle the estate. They got practical in the most devoted way imaginable.

They had the old house moved, set it aside, and in 1913 they built something entirely new. Not for themselves. For their mother, Janie.

They commissioned the Fort Worth architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats to design it, and what came out of that collaboration was something worth stopping to look at. Colonial Revival styling with Prairie School influences. Beveled glass catching the light.

Two-story brick piers rising up strong. One-story octagonal columns rounding off the corners with a kind of quiet elegance. It is, by any measure, a house built out of love, and designed with serious intention.

Children honoring a father by giving their mother something beautiful to live in. That's the Cage Home, and now you know exactly why it's still standing here in Erath County, worth every bit of your attention.

What the marker says

Merchant, rancher, and banker J. H. Cage bought this property in 1876 and moved his family into an existing house. After his death in 1912, his children had the house moved and in 1913 built this home for their mother, Janie. Designed by the Fort Worth architectural firm of Sanguinet & Staats, the Cage home exhibits Colonial Revival styling with Prairie School influences and features beveled glass, two-story brick piers, and one-story octagonal columns. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983