J. W. and Nannie C. Bailey House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna pass it along to you. Out in Gonzales County, there's a house with a story written right into its bones. J.

W. Bailey was born in 1825, and by the time 1897 rolled around, he had something particular in mind. He was going to build a home.

Not just any home, but one for his wife, Nannie C. Green, born in 1851, and their family. And so, between 1897 and 1898, that house went up.

J. W. himself wouldn't have many years left to enjoy it, passing in 1899, but Nannie, well, she was a different story. She lived until 1936, and that house stood with her every one of those years.

Now here's where the story takes a turn, as good stories do. In 1936, the home passed to their daughter, Indian Bailey Kerr, and her husband John A. Kerr.

Inherited, just like that, the house staying exactly where it belonged, in the family. And it remained that way until 1948. What they had on their hands was a modest Queen Anne style residence, and modest doesn't mean plain.

Not by a long shot. This place had a gable roof, tapered wood porch posts sitting up on brick piers, wood sash double and triple-hung windows, long leaf pine woodwork running through the interior, and a single door entry with a transom overhead letting in the light. Everything about it was considered.

Everything about it was deliberate. A man born in 1825 built something in 1897 that would outlast him, outlast his wife, pass through his daughter's hands, and still be standing for a marker to find it. That's not just a house.

That's a plan.

What the marker says

J.W Bailey (1825-1899) built this home in 1897-98 as a residence for his wife Nannie C. Green (1851-1936) and family. Inherited by their daughter Indian Bailey Kerr and her husband John A. Kerr in 1936, the house remained in the family until 1948. A modest Queen Anne style residence, it features a gable roof, tapered wood porch posts on brick piers, wood sash double and triple-hung windows, long leaf pine woodwork, and a single door entry with a transom. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1996