S. P. Simpson, Jr., House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Eagle Pass has seen its share of stories, and this one belongs to a house on Ceylon Street, and the man who built it. Samuel Pruit Simpson, Jr. came to Eagle Pass from Lexington, Kentucky, back in 1883.

He was born in 1871, and he would go on to become a pioneer banker and civic leader in this border town. Starting in 1889, he was associated with the city's first bank, the one his own father had founded. So you could say banking was something of a family tradition, though the marker doesn't say it quite that way.

What it does say is that Samuel was there at the beginning. Then came the eighth of December, 1897, and Samuel married Elisa Dolch at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer. Elisa was born in 1876, and she would live all the way to 1965.

Samuel himself passed in 1924. He also served that same church as a vestryman, so the place that witnessed his wedding later put him to work. Now, a man of that standing eventually needs a home to match, and so around 1908 and into 1909, this house took shape on Ceylon Street.

It was designed by Henry Phelps, a San Antonian, and constructed by Green Vann. When it was finished, it stood as one of the first fine homes on Ceylon Street. The kind of house a town remembers.

And Eagle Pass remembered.

What the marker says

Built by Samuel Pruit Simpson, Jr. (1871-1924), pioneer banker and civic leader who came to Eagle Pass from Lexington, KY., in 1883. Beginning 1889, he was associated with city's first bank, founded by his father. On December 8, 1897, he married Elisa Dolch (1876-1965) in Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, where he was later a vestryman. Designed by San Antonian Henry Phelps, constructed 1908-09 by Green Vann, this was one of first fine homes on Ceylon Street. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972