Caroline Gilbert Hinchee House

Duane's take

The official marker tells this one, and I'm just the voice it found. Now, Beaumont has seen its share of big personalities, but let me tell you about a woman who left her mark on that city in stone and stained glass and sheer force of character. Her name was Caroline Gilbert Hinchee, though folks who knew her called her Carrie.

Born in Beaumont in 1863, she came into the world carrying the weight of a distinguished pioneer Connecticut family name, and from the looks of things, she wore it well. Carrie didn't sit still. She went off and got herself educated at leading art institutions, came back an accomplished artist and art teacher.

And then, in 1900, two things happened that would shape the rest of her life. She married Martin Luther Hinchee, an Illinois native who had made himself into a successful Beaumont businessman. And in that same year, she purchased a piece of property that she clearly had plans for.

Now, those plans took some time to come together. Six years after buying that lot, she had an elaborate residence constructed on it. She didn't hire just anybody to design it.

She brought in Henry C. Mauer, a prominent Beaumont architect, and what he gave her was something to behold. Queen Anne styling with classical revival influences.

A tiled roof. A wide wraparound veranda. Stained glass catching the light just so.

A red stone foundation sitting solid beneath it all. And inside? Well, inside is where Carrie really let her sensibilities show.

There was a glass conservatory, the kind of room that says the person who built it had a feel for beauty and wasn't apologizing for it. And there was one of the city's early residential elevators. In a private home.

In Beaumont. That detail alone ought to tell you something about where Caroline Gilbert Hinchee stood in the social order of that city. Part of what put her there was the Gilbert Oil Company, an independent oil production firm her family had founded.

Through her association with that company, Carrie became wealthy. Beaumont at the turn of the century was a place where fortunes moved fast, and the Gilbert family had positioned themselves well. But Carrie wasn't just a woman of means.

She was a woman of presence. She was active in the First Methodist Church. She was a charter member of the Colonel George Moffett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Social leader of the community, the marker calls her, and that phrase doesn't get handed out lightly. She passed in 1913, and Beaumont kept the house. That residence, designed by Mauer and built to Carrie's vision, still stands as a symbol of Beaumont at the turn of the century, and as a reminder, the marker says, of her many contributions to the city.

A woman born into a good name, who went out and earned a legacy of her own, preserved in tiled roofs and stained glass and one very early elevator. That's Carrie Hinchee. And that house is still standing to prove it.

What the marker says

A descendant of a distinguished pioneer Connecticut family, Caroline "Carrie" Gilbert (1863-1913) was born in Beaumont. Educated at leading art institutions, she was an accomplished artist and art teacher. In 1900 she married Martin Luther Hinchee, an Illinois native who became a successful Beaumont businessman. Caroline became wealthy through her association with the Gilbert Oil company, an independent oil production firm founded by her family. In 1900 she purchased this property and six years later had this elaborate residence constructed. Designed by the prominent Beaumont architect Henry C. Mauer, it features Queen Anne styling with classical revival influences. Outstanding details include the tiled roof, wide wraparound veranda, stained glass and red stone foundation. the interior includes a glass conservatory and one of the city's early residential elevators. The Hinchee House reflects Caroline's status as a social leader of the community. Active in the First Methodist Church, she was a charter member of the Col. George Moffett Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Her home remains as a symbol of Beaumont at the turn of the century and as a reminder of her many contributions to the city. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1982