Fletcher Home

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's what Duane knows about the Fletcher Home. Back in 1879, a man named August W. Schubert built this place.

Just built it, set it down in Lee County, and there it stood. Now, you might think a private home stays a private home, but this one had other ideas. In 1894, the Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, bought the property.

Their plan was to house a ministerial college right there on the grounds. A college. In a house.

That is the kind of ambition that either works out beautifully or ends quietly, and sure enough, that college closed prior to 1900. The marker doesn't say why, and Duane's not going to guess. It just closed.

So there sat this fine building, with a little history already under its belt, ready for its next chapter. That next chapter came in the form of Baylis J. Fletcher.

Lee County treasurer. Legislator. A man with titles, and apparently an eye for real estate, because he bought the place.

The Schubert house became the Fletcher home, and the Fletcher name is the one that stuck. As of the time this marker was recorded, the property was still owned by the Fletcher family. Three owners across the decades, one building, one county.

August W. Schubert built it. A Missouri Synod college briefly called it home.

And the Fletchers kept it. That's the whole story, and sometimes the whole story is enough.

What the marker says

Built by August W. Schubert, 1879. Bought 1894 by Lutheran Church, Missouri Synod, to house a ministerial college, which closed prior to 1900. Sold to Baylis J. Fletcher, Lee County treasurer and legislator. Presently owned by the Fletcher family. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1966