R. F. and Minta Pool House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the R. F. and Minta Pool House in Milam County. Now settle in, because this one starts with a confectionary stand and ends with a corner tower, and the road between those two points is something else entirely.

In 1881, a man named R. F. Pool came to Cameron.

No fanfare mentioned, no brass band. Just a man and a confectionary stand. But here's the thing about R.

F. Pool: that little stand grew. Grew into a department store business.

And if that were the whole story, it'd still be a decent one. But Pool wasn't finished. He went on to found the Pool Manufacturing Company, a large operation with textile factories spread across Texas.

The man had range. Meanwhile, a developer by the name of Jefferson D. Hefley was laying out something he called Hefley Heights, and in 1902 he completed a house as part of that subdivision.

R. F. and his wife Minta, born a Fraim, purchased it that same year. Now, the house itself is worth describing, because Queen Anne styling doesn't apologize for itself.

We're talking spindle frieze and balustrade, a corner tower with bracketed eaves, fishscale shingling. It is not a house that blends in. After the Pools, the place passed through notable hands, including Milam County Tax Collector A.

W. Tabor and several other merchants and civic leaders. Over the years it served as a private residence, as apartments, and as a bed and breakfast.

But through all of it, that Queen Anne character held. Some houses just refuse to be anything other than exactly what they were built to be.

What the marker says

R. F. and Minta Pool House Developer Jefferson D. Hefley completed this house in 1902 as part of his Hefley Heights subdivision. R.F. and Minta (Fraim) pool purchased it the same year. R.F. came to Cameron in 1881 and opened a confectionary stand, which grew to become a department store business. He later founded the Pool Manufacturing Company, a large operation with textile factories across Texas. Subsequent owners of the house included Milam County Tax Collector A.W. Tabor, as well as several other merchants and civic leaders. The house has functioned as a private residence, apartments and a bed and breakfast but still retains its original Queen Anne styling. Features include spindle frieze and balustrade, corner tower with bracketed eaves and fishscale shingling. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2002