DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about the Rembert-Harrison House in Gregg County. Frank Taylor Rembert was born in Copiah County, Mississippi, in 1853. Now, a Mississippi boy with Texas relatives and a railroad job — that's a combination that'll move a man west in a hurry.
And sure enough, in 1872, Frank came to Texas, picking up work with the Houston and Great Northern Railroad down in Crockett. But it was while he was working in Scottsville that fate, or maybe just good timing, put him in the path of a woman named Kate Womack. The two of them married in 1878, and together they landed in Longview — where they bought a cottage already sitting on this very site.
A cottage that, as it turns out, had a long life ahead of it. The original Queen Anne-style structure had been built somewhere between 1877 and 1879, so when Frank and Kate moved in, the place was practically brand new. Frank, though, was not a man content to leave well enough alone.
He became a prominent merchant and investor — running the firm of Mayfield, Rembert, and Company alongside his brothers-in-law, and later operating it as the F. T. Rembert Mercantile Company.
He owned a Cotton Oil Mill, a bank, and several commercial buildings around town. He served as mayor of Longview from 1896 to 1898. The man was building something — and not just in business.
In 1893, Frank made a trip to Chicago for the World's Columbian Exposition. Now, whatever he saw there lit a fire in him, because in about 1895, he came home and set about remodeling the exterior of that old Queen Anne cottage. Off came the elaborate spindle work.
Up went Ionic columns. Classical revival elements appeared where Victorian frills had been. The house that had started its life in one century was being dressed for another.
And what you see today still carries that transformation — an asymmetrical façade, a wraparound front porch, original siding, double-hung wood sash windows, two red brick chimneys, original fireplaces, bulls-eye trim, and woodwork details that have outlasted nearly everything around them. Then, in about 1912, a detached garage and a concrete driveway were added to the property. And here's the detail that makes you pause — those additions were to accommodate a Buick that Frank Rembert had purchased somewhere between 1910 and 1912, believed to be one of the first automobiles in Longview.
A man who'd come to Texas on a railroad in 1872 was now parking one of the first cars in town. Frank Rembert died in 1926. But the house didn't pass out of the family.
His and Kate's nephew, John Womack Harrison, and his family continued living there. A cottage built between 1877 and 1879, remodeled by a man inspired by a Chicago world's fair, survived by the people who kept calling it home. Some houses just have that in them.
What the marker says
Frank Taylor Rembert (1853-1926) was born in Copiah County, Mississippi. In 1872 he came to Texas, where he had relatives and a job with the Houston & Great Northern Railroad in Crockett. While working in Scottsville, he met Kate Womack, and the two married in 1878. The couple moved to Longview, where they bought a cottage already on this site. Frank became a prominent merchant and investor, operating the firm of Mayfield, Rembert, and company (later F. T. Rembert Mercantile Company) with his brothers-in-law and owning a Cotton Oil Mill, bank, and several commercial buildings. He was mayor of Longview from 1896 to 1898. Since Frank’s death in 1926, the Remberts’ nephew, John Womack Harrison, and his family have continued to live in the house. The original Queen Anne-Style cottage was built between 1877 and 1879. In about 1895, inspired by his 1893 trip to the world’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Frank Rembert remodeled the exterior, removing elaborate spindle work and adding ionic columns and other classical revival elements. The wood frame house with original siding and double-hung wood sash windows features an asymmetrical façade dominated by a wraparound front porch. Historic interior elements include two red brick chimneys, original fireplaces, bulls-eye trim and other woodwork details. In about 1912, a detached garage and concrete driveway were added to the property. These accommodated the Buick which Rembert purchased between 1910 and 1912, believed to be one of the first automobiles in Longview. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2013