Condor House

Duane's take

The official marker's the one tellin' this tale, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Now settle in, because this one's about a house that's been standin' in Hill County long enough to earn some serious respect. We're talkin' about Condor House.

In 1906, this home was built for a man named E. L. Condor, born in 1854, a saddle and harness maker by trade and an early trustee of Hubbard's Methodist Episcopal Church, South.

A man who worked with his hands and, apparently, was not shy about doing things right. Because when it came time to build his family a home, E. L.

Condor did not cut corners. The house went up in cypress and long-leaf pine. Two woods chosen for a reason, though the marker doesn't spell it out, so we'll just let them speak for themselves.

Cypress. Long-leaf pine. You already know that house was built to last.

And then there's the design. A wraparound porch, the kind that invites you to sit down and stay a while. Doric columns holding everything up with that clean, classical dignity.

And over the three-windowed bay at the end of the porch, a triangular pediment, a little architectural crown that says this is a home someone was proud of. The marker calls it a good example of an early city home, and that's no small thing. There were plenty of houses going up in those days, but not all of them carried this kind of care in every board and column.

What really lands the story, though, is this: that house remained in the Condor family for almost fifty years. A saddle and harness maker builds something in 1906, and it holds on to his name for the better part of half a century. That's not just a house.

That's a statement.

What the marker says

This house was built in 1906 for E. L. Condor (b. 1854), a saddle and harness maker and an early trustee of Hubbard's Methodist Episcopal Church, South. Constructed of cypress and long-leaf pine, the home features a wraparound porch, Doric columns, and a triangular pediment over the three windowed bay at the end of the porch. A good example of an early city home, it remained in the Condor family for almost fifty years. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984