DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the story of Edward Mandell House, born right here in Harris County. July 26, 1858. On this very site stood a two-story frame house, and inside it, a son was born to Thomas W.
House — Houston businessman and Mayor — a boy who would one day help shape the course of world events without ever once asking voters for permission. Edward Mandell House got his schooling at the Houston Academy, then pushed on to Virginia, and eventually to Cornell University. In 1881 he married Loulie Hunter, and together they raised two daughters.
Then in 1885, the family pulled up stakes and moved to Austin, and that is where E. M. House discovered his true calling — not the spotlight, but the room just behind it.
Democratic party politics in Texas had themselves a quiet operator. House proved instrumental in the election of not one, not two, but four Texas governors — James S. Hogg, Charles A.
Culberson, S. W. T.
Lanham, and Joseph D. Sayers. Four governors.
The man never ran for a thing. And if you thought that was something, 1912 is where the story really opens up. House became instrumental in the nomination of Woodrow Wilson for president of the United States.
National prominence, just like that — earned from the background, same as always. President Wilson kept House close. Trusted him.
And when the grinding machinery of World War I demanded diplomacy, there was E. M. House, deep in the foreign policy negotiations.
He played a major part in drafting the Fourteen Points — Wilson's own plan for ending the war. And in 1919, he sat as a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference, where the shape of the modern world was being hammered out around a table. Edward Mandell House died in New York on March 28, 1938, and was brought home to rest in Houston's Glenwood Cemetery.
He was known for many years simply as Colonel House. Here is what the marker wants you to sit with: one of the most politically influential people in the history of Texas and the United States — and he never held elective office. Not once.
Some men chase power. Edward Mandell House just quietly handed it to the right people and let history do the rest.
What the marker says
(July 26, 1858 - March 28, 1938) Son of Houston businessman and Mayor Thomas W. House, was born in a two-story frame house at this site. He attended the Houston Academy and later continued his education in Virginia and at Cornell University. E. M. House married Loulie Hunter in 1881, and they were the parents of two daughters. In 1885 the family moved to Austin, and House became involved in Democratic party politics. He was instrumental in the election of four Texas governors-- James S. Hogg, Charles A. Culberson, S. W. T. Lanham, and Joseph D. Sayers. House gained national political prominence in 1912 when he was instrumental in the nomination of Woodrow Wilson for president. House became a trusted advisor to President Wilson, participating in foreign policy negotiations during and after World War I. He played a major part in drafting the Fourteen Points, Wilson's plan for ending the war, and was a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. House died in New York in 1838 and was buried in Houston's Glenwood Cemetery. Known as Colonel House for many years, he is remembered as one of the most politically influential people of Texas and the United States, although he never held elective office.