Ginocchio-Cook-Pedison House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm taking it from there. Now, Marshall, Texas has seen its share of fine homes, but this one on the marker has a story that winds through three families, two continents, and a whole lot of years. So settle in.

Let me walk you through the Ginocchio-Cook-Pedison House. Charles Ginocchio, an Italian-American business leader, born in 1844, arrived in Marshall with his wife Roxana in 1871. They put down roots, and fifteen years later, in 1886, they built this home.

And they didn't go cheap on the architect. They hired C. G.

Lancaster, the same man who designed the Harrison County courthouse. So right from the start, this house had credentials. Charles passed in 1898, and the Ginocchio chapter closed.

But the story, well, it was just getting going. Living in the Ginocchio household at some point was a nephew, George J. Signaigo.

Now here's where it gets interesting. George's parents-in-law, a Mr. and Mrs. Behn Cook, bought the place in 1900.

And they didn't just buy a house, they kept the family close. The Signaigos came right along and lived there with the Cooks, all under that Lancaster-designed roof, until 1912. The Cooks held title to the property all the way until 1945.

That's forty-five years of one family's hands on the deed. Then in 1945, a new chapter opened, and this one has its own kind of symmetry. Mr. and Mrs.

A. P. Pedison, Grecian-Americans, became the owners.

Now, you might think that's just a real estate transaction, but consider this: the Pedisons were former operators of the Ginocchio Hotel dining room. The family that once served guests in a hotel bearing this house's original builder, now owned the builder's home itself. The marker doesn't say it's poetic.

But it sure sounds that way.

What the marker says

Italian-American business leader Charles Ginocchio (1844-98) and wife Roxana settled in Marshall in 1871; built this home, 1886. Architect: C. G. Lancaster, designer of county courthouse. In Ginocchio household was a nephew, George J. Signaigo, whose parents-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Behn Cook, bought place in 1900, had Signaigos live with them until 1912, retained title until 1945. Owners since 1945: Grecian-Americans, Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Pedison, ex-operators of Ginocchio Hotel dining room. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1973