DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna pass it right along to you. Now, some houses just sit where they're built and that's the end of it. But some houses, well, they've got a little more ambition than that.
The John T. Wofford Home is that second kind. Built in 1877 near Lindenau, out in DeWitt County, the man behind it was John Tyler Wofford, born in 1844, died in 1910.
Confederate veteran. Merchant. Farmer.
Rancher. And the son of the first chief justice of DeWitt County. That is a résumé, friend.
That is a résumé. Now, a man with that kind of lineage doesn't build just any house. He builds one with a mansard roof, which if you're not familiar, is the kind of roofline that makes a house look like it's wearing a very serious hat.
He builds hand-carved porch railings featuring the Lone Star of Texas, because apparently every detail needed to know where it stood. Six fireplaces. Six.
And stair railings to match. Then, right around 1883, somebody made a decision that sounds like the setup to a tall tale but is simply the truth. The whole house was dismantled.
Every board was numbered. Every single one. And then the whole thing was moved and reassembled right here.
Not torn down. Not abandoned. Picked up, counted out, and put back together like the most ambitious puzzle in DeWitt County history.
Those six fireplaces are still in use. The stair railings are still in use. The Lone Star is still carved right there in the porch railing, right where John Tyler Wofford left it.
Some things, it turns out, are built to outlast the ground they started on.
What the marker says
Built in 1877 near Lindenau by John Tyler Wofford (1844-1910), Confederate veteran, merchant, farmer, rancher, son of first chief justice, DeWitt County. House was dismantled, boards numbered, moved and reassembled here about 1883. Has mansard roof. Hand-carved porch railings feature the lone star of Texas. Six original fireplaces and stair railings are still in use. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965