Pritchett House

Duane's take

Here's the story as the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna let it breathe a little. A Missouri man named Joseph Lucien Pritchett was born in 1858, and by 1888 he had packed up his life and pointed himself toward Huntsville, Texas. What brought him?

An appointment to the faculty of Sam Houston Normal Institute, where he was to serve as a professor of mathematics. He came with his wife, Lenora Melissa, born an Evans before she took the Pritchett name, and together they set about making a life in Walker County. They acquired some property in the area, and then in 1892, they built the house.

They called it Oak Grove. Now that name has a certain quiet dignity to it, doesn't it. Not a boast.

Just an observation about what's standin' around you. The house itself was Folk Victorian in form, which is its own kind of Texas understatement, but don't let that fool you. Look close and you'll find Queen Anne spindlework in the porch brackets and along the eaves of the front gable dormer.

Somebody cared about the details. The Pritchetts kept adding to it as the years went on and the family grew, expanding the house until it was big enough for six children. Six.

A professor of mathematics who clearly had no objection to large numbers. Joseph Lucien Pritchett lived from 1858 to 1936, and Oak Grove outlasted him. The house stayed in the Pritchett family all the way until 1945, more than half a century after they first raised it.

Some houses hold a family. Some families hold a house. Oak Grove, by the look of it, managed both.

What the marker says

Missouri native Joseph Lucien Pritchett (1858-1936) and his wife, Lenora Melissa (Evans), moved to Huntsville in 1888, when he was appointed to the faculty of Sam Houston Normal Institute as a professor of mathematics. After acquiring some property in the area, they built this house in 1892 and named it "Oak Grove." Folk Victorian in form, the house features Queen Anne spindlework in the porch brackets and along the eaves of the front gable dormer. The Pritchetts expanded the house as their family grew, ultimately to include six children. "Oak Grove" remained in the Pritchett family until 1945. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001