DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Garvey-Veihl House in Tarrant County. Now settle in, because this one's got roots that run deep — all the way back to a land deed, a river bluff, and a family that knew how to build for the long haul. It starts with a man named Baldwin L.
Samuel, an early landowner who in 1876 deeded land in this area to his daughter Mary and her husband Isaac Foster. A father passing land to his daughter — that's a quiet kind of legacy, the kind that ripples out further than anyone expects. Six years later, in 1882, the Fosters made the journey from Kentucky, and they didn't come alone.
Their daughter Lucy — known as Lula — came with them, along with her husband, a man named William B. Garvey. The whole family together, planting new roots beside the Trinity River.
They built a home on a lot right next to this very site, overlooking the water. And they weren't alone in that ambition. At that time, many of Fort Worth's wealthiest families were doing the same thing — raising impressive homes along Samuels Avenue and the bluff of the Trinity River, turning that stretch into something worth stopping to look at.
The Garveys had their eye on the future. In 1883, they bought this particular lot from the Fosters — keeping it in the family, so to speak — and then in 1884, they put up a small, one-story frame residence. Nothing too grand at first.
Just a foothold. But by the late 1890s, that modest little house had grown into something altogether different: a full two-story Queen Anne, with asymmetrical massing, porches, dormers, and — here's the detail that'll stick with you — beehive turrets. Now that's a house that's trying to tell you something.
The Garveys lived there long enough to see Samuels Avenue in its glory, long enough to watch the neighborhood define itself. When they died in 1915, they bequeathed the house to Baptist Church Charities — a final, deliberate act of generosity. Three years on, in 1918, merchant Robert C.
Veihl and his wife Lena B. bought the home, and the Veihl family kept it going all the way until 1959. Then, silence. The house was abandoned.
And in 1972, it faced condemnation — a grand Queen Anne with beehive turrets, staring down the wrecking ball. That house had outlasted Kentucky roots, a river bluff community, two family names, and decades of Fort Worth history. It had been a home, a bequest, a merchant's pride, and then a forgotten thing.
The marker calls it representative of the grand homes that lined Samuels Avenue at the turn of the century — and maybe that's the whole story right there. Those homes were built to last. Whether the world let them is another matter entirely.
What the marker says
Early landowner Baldwin L. Samuel deeded land in this area to his daughter Mary and her husband Isaac Foster in 1876. The Fosters and their daughter Lucy (Lula) and her husband William B. Garvey moved here from Kentucky in 1882 and built a home overlooking the Trinity River on a lot adjacent to this home site. At that time many of the city's wealthiest families were building impressive homes along Samuels Avenue and the bluff of the Trinity River. The Garveys bought this lot from the Fosters in 1883 and in 1884 built a small 1-story frame residence. By the late 1890s they had enlarged the house to its current 2-story Queen Anne style appearance. The house exhibits hallmark features of the style, including asymmetrical massing, porches, dormers, and beehive turrets. The house was bequeathed to Baptist Church Charities following the Garvey's deaths in 1915. Merchant Robert C. Veihl and his wife, Lena B., bought the home in 1918. It was maintained by the Veihl family until 1959, but was subsequently abandoned and in 1972 faced condemnation. The house is representative of the grand homes that lined Samuels Avenue at the turn of the century. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark- 1993.