Griffin Memorial House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. We're talking about the Griffin Memorial House, out in Harris County, and the story reaches back to around 1860. That's when a man named Eugene Pillot built it.

Now, Eugene was one of the sons of Claude Nicholas Pillot, who was an early settler in Harris County. And the father didn't just pass down a name, he passed down a trade. Claude Nicholas taught Eugene the building craft, and Eugene took that teaching and ran with it.

He became, and this is the marker's own word, an outstanding builder in the Texas coastal area. That's a reputation that takes some earning. The house he built around 1860 stood on its original site near the route of the Atascosita Trail, south of Willow Creek.

And here's where the story gets the kind of weight that makes you stop and look at the horizon a moment. That original site was a place where General Sam Houston often stopped as a guest. Often.

Not once, not passing through on a curiosity. Often. Whatever conversations were held under that roof, whatever evenings played out near Willow Creek, they happened more than once, and they happened with Sam Houston sitting in the room.

The house changed hands over the years, and from 1920 to 1965 it belonged to the family of John B. Griffin, whose name it carries today. A builder's craft, a father's teaching, a general's footsteps.

Some houses just collect history whether they mean to or not.

What the marker says

Built about 1860 by Eugene Pillot, one of the sons of Claude Nicholas Pillot, early Harris County settler. Taught trade by his father, Eugene Pillot became an outstanding builder in Texas coastal area. Original site of this house (near Atascosita Trail route) was south of Willow Creek, where General Sam Houston often stopped as a guest. Owned by family of John B. Griffin from 1920 to 1965. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1969