Dick-Gillette House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Dick-Gillette House in Colorado County. Now settle in, because this one starts with fire and ends with columns that'll make you slow down on the road. In 1907, a fire destroyed the family home of Leon F.

Dick, a retired dry goods salesman. Most folks, after something like that, might take it as a sign to downsize, to simplify, to just find a room somewhere and call it done. Leon Dick was not most folks.

He supervised the construction of a brand new house in 1908, and when that house went up, it went up with intention. We're talking Classical Revival architecture, full-height front portico, Ionic columns, the whole statement. This was not a man rebuilding out of necessity.

This was a man making a point. And the house made friends. Leon Dick was known for his hospitality, welcoming family and friends through those grand doors, and at least one guest arrived with a title.

Governor Pat Neff himself stayed at the Dick-Gillette House while he was in Columbus for the city's centennial celebration in 1923. Think about that. The governor of Texas, sleeping under the roof that Leon Dick built from the ashes of a fire not fifteen years before.

After Leon Dick's death in 1931, the house passed to his niece, Alma Dick Gillette, and her family carried it forward, kept it in the family all the way until 1976. The Ionic columns are still there. Some things, if you build them right, just endure.

What the marker says

After a 1907 fire destroyed his family home, Leon F. Dick, a retired dry goods salesman, supervised the construction of this house in 1908. Dick offered hospitality to family and friends, including Governor Pat Neff, who stayed here while in Columbus for the city's centennial celebration in 1923. After Leon Dick's death in 1931, his niece, Alma Dick Gillette, and her family lived here. A good example of the Classical Revival style of architecture, with its full-height front portico and Ionic columns, the Dick-Gillette house remained in the family until 1976. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2000