Chilton-Dean House

Duane's take

The official marker's the word I'm going by here, so let me tell you what it says about the Chilton-Dean House in Montgomery County. Now, every good old house has layers, and this one's got more than most. It starts with a man named John E.

Shelton, a local homebuilder in Montgomery, who put up the original two-bedroom house between 1851 and 1853. Simple enough start. But then 1854 rolls around, and that's when things get interesting.

Shelton sold the house to the Reverend Thomas Chilton. Born in 1798, died in 1854. Think about that timing for a second.

The Reverend Chilton was a former U.S. representative, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Montgomery, and, here's the detail that tends to stop people cold, a close friend of David Crockett. That close friend. The Chilton family held onto the property for nearly two decades before selling it in 1872.

Then the house sat in other hands until 1891, when a Dr. F.A. Young bought it and put the front room to work as his medical office.

He even had a dedicated door for it, a door that has since been sealed off. You can imagine patients coming and going through that room. Dr.

Young sold the house in 1894 to David and Minnie Dean. David was born in 1855, Minnie in 1861. David would live until 1921, Minnie until 1931.

The Deans added the white picket fence, which tells you something about how they saw the place. Home. The Deans had no children of their own, so when the time came, their nephew Morris Steger inherited the house.

The Chilton-Dean House is what the marker calls a remnant of Old Montgomery, and that word, remnant, carries some weight. A homebuilder's modest two-bedroom, a congressman's and a preacher's residence, a frontier doctor's office, a childless couple's cherished home with its white picket fence. All of it still standing.

Some houses just hold on.

What the marker says

John E. Shelton, a local homebuilder in Montgomery, built the original two-bedroom house between 1851 and 1853. In 1854, he sold it to the Reverend Thomas Chilton (1798-1854), former U.S. representative, pastor of First Baptist Church of Montgomery and close friend of David Crockett. The Chilton family sold the house in 1872. Dr. F.A. Young bought the property in 1891 and used the front room as his medical office, using a door since sealed off. Dr. Young sold the house to David (1855-1921) and Minnie (1861-1931) Dean in 1894. The Deans added the white picket fence. Not having any children of their own, their nephew, Morris Steger, inherited the home. The Chilton-Dean house is a remnant of Old Montgomery. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1963