John Wesley Malone Home

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Out in Brown County, there's a house with more layers to it than a good brisket, and every layer's got a story. It starts with two pioneer ranchers, Modie J. and Samuel R.

Coggin, who began building this place after 1874. They put it up, they worked it, and then in 1888 they sold it. That's when John Wesley Malone walks into the story.

Born in 1858, died in 1932, and in between those two years, the man made his mark. He bought the Coggin house, settled in, and then in 1904 he went ahead and added an entire second floor. Just decided the place needed more of itself, I suppose.

Now Malone wasn't just a man of property. He ran a hardware store, and he ran it in partnership with a longtime friend named Will H. Mayes.

That friendship had some reach to it, because Will H. Mayes went on to become Texas' lieutenant governor, serving in 1913 and 1914. Not a bad friend to have in your corner.

But wait, because this property has one more surprise tucked inside it. Also located right here is Brownwood's first public swimming pool. Built not by Malone, not by the Coggins, but by Malone's father-in-law, a man named John W.

Lambeth. The kind of detail that stops you mid-sentence. The story doesn't end with Malone, either.

T. W. and Helen Waddill bought the residence in 1970, and here it still stands, carrying every one of those names forward. Pioneer ranchers, a hardware man, a future lieutenant governor, and Brownwood's very first public pool, all on one piece of ground.

Some places just collect history like that.

What the marker says

Pioneer ranchers Modie J. and Samuel R. Coggin began this house after 1874. They sold it in 1888 to John Wesley Malone (1858-1932), who added the second floor in 1904. Malone ran a hardware store in partnership with his longtime friend Will H. Mayes, who became Texas' lieutenant governor, 1913-14. Also located here is Brownwood's first public swimming pool, built by Malone's father-in-law, John W. Lambeth. T. W. and Helen Waddill bought the residence in 1970. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1976