Callaway House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, as best as Duane can carry the tale. Now, Wood County has seen its share of lives well-lived, and the story of the Callaway House is one worth slowing down for. Lorenzo Dow Callaway was born in 1869, right here in Wood County.

Elizabeth Williams came into the world in 1874, also a Wood County native. When they married in 1892, they were two people already rooted in this same red-dirt corner of Texas, and together they put down roots even deeper. They had five children, and they built this home, this one-story Queen Anne-style T-plan residence that still stands today.

Look at it. Shingles and detailing worked into the gables, partial porches wrapping around, decorative spindlework and railings that somebody took real pride in. That wasn't accidental.

That was a family saying: we are here, and we intend to stay. Lorenzo joined his father, James Anderson Callaway, in the mercantile business, and that wasn't the half of it. The man had ranching interests, milling interests, and still found time to serve as a school trustee, a city alderman, and mayor.

That is a full plate by anybody's measure. Then 1918 came. The flu epidemic, the same one that was sweeping the country, reached Lorenzo Dow Callaway, and it took him.

He was born in 1869 and gone by 1918, and that is the kind of loss that reshapes a household overnight. But Elizabeth Williams Callaway did not fold. She went to work managing lunchroom operations for the Mineola schools, and she kept at it for many years.

She was born in 1874 and lived until 1949, and through all of it, this house held. The Callaway family held onto it all the way until 1984. Nearly a century of one family, one home, one piece of Wood County soil.

The house outlasted Lorenzo, outlasted Elizabeth, outlasted most of what surrounded it. Some things, if you build them right and love them long enough, just stay.

What the marker says

Wood County natives Lorenzo Dow Callaway (1869-1918) and Elizabeth Williams (1874-1949) married in 1892 and had five children. Lorenzo joined his father, James Anderson Callaway, in his mercantile business, and had other varied interests including ranching and milling. He also served as a school trustee, city alderman and mayor. Soon after they married, the Callaways built this home. The one-story Queen Anne-style T-plan residence features shingles and detailing in the gables, partial porches, and decorative spindlework and railings. Lorenzo died in 1918 in the flu epidemic. Elizabeth served for many years as manager of lunchroom operations for Mineola schools. The house remained in the Callaway family until 1984.