Inlow and Jeanette Mathews House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passin' it along to you. Back in 1849, a man named Inlow Mathews packed up his family, packed up his slaves, and made the long journey from Alabama to San Augustine County. He brought all of it with him, the people and the burdens both, and he set down roots in East Texas.

Inlow was a prosperous planter, and the county took notice. He served several terms as county commissioner, a man of standing in the community by most measures of that era. His wife Jeanette, born a Hoffman, was right there beside him through all of it.

He passed in 1879, she in 1897, and between those two bookends they built something meant to last. Sometime before the Civil War, the Mathews family built this house. And here is the thing about that house.

It has remained in family ownership. Not sold off, not lost, not torn down. Still in the family.

The home is a vernacular frame house, and it carries the influence of the Greek Revival style in the way it presents itself to the world. Symmetrical in form, a central gabled porch out front, squared posts holding it up, and a double-door entryway flanked by a transom and sidelights. There is also a rear addition, representing a later period of construction, because a house that lasts long enough picks up chapters along the way.

The Inlow and Jeanette Mathews House is still standing in San Augustine County, carrying 1849 all the way to the present day.

What the marker says

Inlow Mathews (d. 1879) and wife Jeanette (Hoffman) (d. 1897) brought their family and slaves to San Augustine County from Alabama in 1849. Inlow was a prosperous planter, and he served several terms as county commissioner. The Mathewses built this home sometime before the Civil War, and it has remained in family ownership. The vernacular frame house reflects influences of the Greek Revival style in its symmetrical form, central gabled porch, squared posts and double-door entryway flanked by a transom and sidelights. A rear addition represents a later period of construction. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004