Jones Mansion

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and I'm passing it right along to you. Now, Canadian, Texas has seen its share of bold statements, but few as solid, as literally solid, as the one Thomas Stanley Jones made in 1910. Jones was a prominent area rancher, a native of Wales who had made his mark on the ranchlands of Hemphill County.

And when it came time to build a home for his wife, Rosalie, born a Whaley, and their children, Thomas Stanley Jones did not think small. He brought in an Amarillo architect named E. Wellington, and together they put up something this town had never seen.

The first brick residence ever constructed in Canadian. Think about that for a moment. Every other home in Canadian up to that point, wood.

But Jones, he was building for keeps. Wellington designed the place in the Classical Revival style, and that means this wasn't just a house, it was a declaration. Monumental Ionic columns out front, red brick corner quoins, Renaissance detailing worked into the bones of the building.

The kind of place that makes you slow down when you drive past, whether you mean to or not. It reflected, as the marker puts it, its builder's prominence in the town. A rancher from Wales, raising columns on the Texas plains.

That is a story that starts somewhere far away and ends up right here, in brick and mortar, still standing.

What the marker says

Prominent area rancher Thomas Stanley Jones, a native of Wales, had this home built in 1910 for his wife, Rosalie (Whaley), and their children. Designed by Amarillo architect E. Wellington, it was the first brick residence constructed in Canadian. Reflecting its builder's prominence in the town, the Classical Revival mansion features monumental Ionic columns, red brick corner quoins, and Renaissance detailing. Recorded Texas Landmark Landmark - 1983