J. H. and Abbie Barbee House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the J. H. and Abbie Barbee House in Hays County. John Howard Barbee came into this world in 1854, out in a place called Stringtown, a stretch of farms lying just outside San Marcos.

Now that name, Stringtown, ought to give you a picture right there. Not a town exactly, just farms strung out along the land, one after another. And out of that quiet, agricultural stretch came a man who seemed determined to put his name on just about everything he could.

Businessman. Rancher. Builder.

Developer. And on top of all that, a founder of the Farmers Union Gin Co. Barbee wasn't the kind of fellow who sat still for long.

His wife Abbie, though, she had a different kind of gift. She was an accomplished singer, and when John Howard Barbee decided in 1906 to move into San Marcos proper, he did what a man does when he wants the world to know he thinks highly of his wife. He built her a house.

Not just any house, mind you. A 20th century classical revival, with Doric columns standing at attention and a prominent pediment graced with dentil courses. This was a house that announced itself.

After the Barbees, the house passed through many families, and those families weren't quiet about it either. They left their marks on the commerce and the educational institutions of San Marcos, one generation handing the story to the next. The house is still standing, those Doric columns still holding up their end of the deal, out on the San Marcos streetscape where John Howard Barbee put them in 1906.

He built it for his wife. It outlasted them both. That's the kind of thing a good house does.

What the marker says

J.H. AND ABBIE BARBEE HOUSE John Howard Barbee was born in Stringtown, a stretch of farms outside San Marcos, in 1854. Barbee was a businessman, rancher, builder, developer and was a founder in the Farmers Union Gin Co. His wife, Abbie, was an accomplished singer. In 1906, Barbee moved to San Marcos and built this house for his wife. It later passed through many families who had an impact on commerce and educational institutions in San Marcos. The house is of the 20th century classical revival style with Doric columns and a prominent pediment with dentil courses. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK - 2014