DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the L. B. Russell Home, out in Comanche County.
Now settle in, because this one's got layers. Two original rooms — that's where we start. Built in 1877, hauled stone by stone to the site in ox wagons, rubblestone, the kind of construction that says right from the start: this place intends to last.
And last it did. Come 1886, Texas pioneers L. B. and Alice Beeman Russell purchased the home, moved themselves in, and then — as children tend to do — kept arriving.
So the Russells did what any sensible family does when the walls start feeling close: they added rooms. A room here, a room there, the house growing right alongside the family. What started as two stubborn rubblestone rooms became something considerably more.
Now, about L. B. Russell himself.
Where do you even begin? The man was a lawyer. A judge.
A mayor. An editor, a historian, a genealogist, a linguist. He wrote poetry.
He played the fiddle. He studied the Bible. And he was a Mason.
That is not a résumé — that is a small civilization walking around in one pair of boots. He survived until 1940, and by his late years the people of Comanche had settled on a title for him that fits like a well-worn saddle: "The Grand Old Philosopher of Comanche." I'd say they earned the right to call him that. And here's the part that makes this house more than just old stone and added-on rooms — it's still occupied by descendants.
The rubblestone walls are still standing. The family is still there. Some things hauled in by ox wagon have a way of holding on.
What the marker says
Two original rooms built 1877 of rubblestone hauled to site by ox wagons. Purchased 1886 by Texas pioneers L. B. and Alice Beeman Russell, who added rooms as children grew older. Home is still occupied by descendants. Mr. Russell, who survived until 1940, was lawyer, judge, mayor, editor, historian, genealogist, linguist, poet, fiddler, Bible student and a Mason--in his late years known as "The Grand Old Philosopher of Comanche." Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967