M.S. and Cora Alice Perry House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, out on the Matagorda County coast, where the Gulf weather has a way of reminding you who's really in charge, there stands a house that was built to answer back. The M.

S. and Cora Alice Perry House, raised in 1917 and 1918, and friend, whoever drew up those plans was not playing around. M. S.

Perry, born in 1872, was a prominent community leader and the principal owner of Le Tulle Mercantile Co. His wife, Cora Alice, born in 1883, was every bit his partner in vision. Together, the two of them sat down with their builder, a man named George Schultz, and they designed something that was going to last.

Now, you might ask what kind of house do you build when you're staring down turbulent coastal weather year after year. The Perrys had their answer. Layered one-by-twelve boards.

Concrete stucco on top of that. This was not a house that intended to apologize to a storm. And the style of it, well, that's where it gets interesting, because the Perry House is an architectural hybrid, pulling from colonial revival on one side and Queen Anne on the other.

Two grand traditions walking into the same front door and somehow making it work. M. S.

Perry passed in 1919, just a year after the house was finished. Cora Alice lived on until 1970. After her years there, the home spent some time divided into apartments, which is the fate that swallows many a fine old building.

But in the 1970s, somebody looked at what was there and decided it was worth saving. The house was restored. And given what it was built to withstand, maybe that shouldn't surprise anyone.

When you put that much intention into layered boards and concrete stucco, when you sit down with your builder and design something to resist the coast itself, well. The coast is still out there. So is the house.

What the marker says

An architectural hybrid incorporating colonial revival and Queen Anne style elements, the M. S. (1872-1919) and Cora Alice (1883-1970) Perry House was erected in 1917 and 1918. A prominent community leader, Perry was the principle owner of Le Tulle Mercantile Co. The Perrys designed the home with their builder, George Schultz. The home, intended to resist turbulent coastal weather, was constructed of layered 1" x 12" boards and concrete stucco. After years as apartments, it was restored in the 1970s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1997