Griffith House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Griffith House in Kaufman County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. You don't just get one story with this property.

You get at least three. The land itself goes back to around 1876, when a couple of early Terrell residents named Jasper W. Johnson and his wife Susan put down roots here.

We don't know everything about the Johnsons, but we know they were early enough to the community that their home became part of the very foundation of what came after. Literally. That original basement is still there on the property today.

Two outbuildings, too. The past has a way of stickin' around in Terrell, Texas. Fast forward to 1909.

A man named Lycurgus Edward Griffith, Jr., goes by L.E., decides this is the spot. He brings in James E. Flanders, a noted Dallas architect, to design something worthy of the address.

And Flanders delivers. The house that goes up is the one standing today. L.E.

Griffith was not a man who did things small or singular. He established the L.E. Griffith Drug Company.

He served as president of First State Bank. He was active in the Terrell Chamber of Commerce. He sat as a director of the local newspaper.

And on top of all that, he was a strong supporter of agricultural development. The man had his hands in just about everything that made a town run. He and his second wife, Netta Washington Griffith, born a Morrill, made this house their home.

L.E. Griffith was born in 1865 and died in 1928. What he left behind was a house designed by a noted architect, built on a foundation laid by the town's earliest settlers, full of a life that touched nearly every corner of Terrell.

Some houses just hold more history than their walls have any right to.

What the marker says

This 1909 house was designed by noted Dallas architect, James E. Flanders, for Lycurgus Edward (L.E.) Griffith, Jr. (1865-1928), and his second wife, Netta Washington (Morrill) Griffith. The site originally housed the c.1876 home of early Terrell residents Jasper W. Johnson and his wife, Susan. The original basement and two outbuildings remain on the property. L.E. Griffith established the L.E. Griffith Drug Company, was president of First State Bank, active in the Terrell Chamber of Commerce, director of the local newspaper and a strong supporter of agricultural development. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2017