DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Price-Farwell House in Matagorda County. Now settle in, because this one's got a little bit of everything — a town born out of ambition, a house that literally moved, and a family name that stuck long after the deed changed hands. It starts, as a lot of good Texas stories do, with somebody selling land.
In 1901, the Palacios City Townsite Company started selling lots for what they were calling the new City by the Sea, laid out along Tres Palacios Bay. Three years after that, the New York, Texas and Mexican Railway built a line right into town, and within ten years Palacios was home to the Texas Baptist Encampment and being promoted far and wide as a health resort town. People were paying attention.
One of those people was a lumberman out of Tennessee named John T. Price — born in 1875 — who packed up his wife Opal Dean, born Cates, in 1906 and made the move to Palacios. They built themselves a residence right on the corner of Fifth and Duson streets, overlooking Tres Palacios Bay.
Now here's where it gets interesting. The Prices lived in that home until 1920, when a man named Howard Bradford Farwell and his wife Mary Estelle purchased the place. And they didn't just buy it — they moved it.
Three blocks, to this very site. That detail just sits there in the record like it's nothing, but somebody moved that house three whole blocks, and that house is still standing here to tell it. H.B.
Farwell himself was no stranger to Palacios. He'd come to town back in 1905 to manage the very Palacios City Townsite Company that had started selling those lots four years before. He became a prominent business leader in the community, and the Farwell family held onto the property all the way until 1946.
After that, the house passed to Amos and Helen Duffy — Helen born a Gilbert — and later to Nelle Elizabeth Kimball. Now, beyond the names and the movin' and the changing of hands, this house stands for something bigger in the story of how Texans built their homes. The bungalow was making its mark in this region in the early part of the twentieth century, representing what the marker calls a major shift in traditional residential design.
Houses like this one were often built by contractors working from set plans or pattern books, with the owners choosing the interior details and finishes themselves. And this one dressed itself well. Neoclassical and Arts and Crafts influences both — a pyramidal roof, a front-facing central dormer, classical columns, a symmetrical façade, a three-bay porch, and multi-pane window patterning.
A City by the Sea needed houses worth looking at, and John T. Price, who didn't live past 1921, and Opal Dean, who lived all the way to 1980, made sure theirs was one of them. The house outlasted them both.
It outlasted the Farwells too. It's still right here on Tres Palacios Bay, three blocks from where it started, which, in Texas, counts as practically staying put.
What the marker says
In 1901, the Palacios City Townsite Company began selling lots for the new "City by the Sea," laid out along Tres Palacios Bay. Three years later, the New York, Texas & Mexican Railway built a line into town, and within ten years Palacios was the site of the Texas Baptist Encampment and promoted widely as a health resort town. Lumberman John T. Price (1875-1921) and his wife, Opal Dean (Cates) (1883-1980) moved from Tennessee to Palacios in 1906. They built this residence on the corner of Fifth and Duson streets, overlooking Tres Palacios Bay. They lived in the home until 1920, when Howard Bradford Farwell and wife Mary Estelle purchased it and moved it three blocks to this site. H.B. Farwell (1854-1943) came to Palacios in 1905 to manage the Palacios City Townsite Company, and he became a prominent business leader in the community. The Farwell family retained ownership of the property until 1946. Later owners included Amos and Helen (Gilbert) Duffy, and Nelle Elizabeth Kimball. The Price-Farwell House represents a major shift in traditional residential design. The bungalow became a prominent house form in this region in the early part of the 20th century. Such houses were often built by contractors from set plans or pattern books, with owners responsible for choosing interior detailings and finishes. The home exhibits both Neoclassical and Arts and Crafts influences. Design elements include a pyramidal roof, front-facing central dormer, classical columns, symmetrical façade, three-bay porch and multi-pane window patterning. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004