Homesite of Dr. D.G. Thompson

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm taking it from there. Now, some men leave a mark on a place, and some places leave a mark on a man; and then there's Dr. Dixon Gillespie Thompson, who managed both at the same time.

A native Texan, born and bred, Thompson went east to earn his credentials, picking up his medical degree from Louisville Medical School in Kentucky and training at several hospitals out that way. But Ellis County was always where this story was headed. He came back, married Rufa Jones in 1882, and then got right to work: building this very residence for his family in 1883 and 1884.

Now, doctoring alone might have been enough for most men. But Dr. Thompson had a wide set of ambitions.

He built up large landholdings in Ellis County, and (just to keep things interesting) held an ownership interest in not one, not two, but three banks. Physician, landowner, banker. The man apparently did not believe in idle afternoons.

Then comes 1917, and Dr. Thompson sold the home to Mary M. and John Beatty. And here's the part worth sitting with for a moment: he sold it, yes, but he never left.

Dixon Gillespie Thompson stayed right here in this house until his death in 1935. Eighteen years as a guest in what had been his own home. Whatever the terms of that arrangement were, the marker doesn't say, but the man clearly knew when he'd built something worth staying in.

What the marker says

A native Texan, Dixon Gillespie Thompson received his medical degree from Louisville Medical School in Kentucky and trained at several hospitals in the east. He married Rufa Jones in 1882 and built this residence for his family in 1883 - 84. In addition to his prominence as a physician, Dr. Thompson had large landholdings in Ellis County and owned an interest in three banks. Although he sold his home in 1917 to Mary M. and John Beatty, Dr. Thompson continued to reside here until his death in 1935.