Scott Mansion

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I tell it to you. Paris, Texas, had itself a fire in 1916. A bad one.

And when the smoke cleared and folks took stock of what was left standing, this mansion was still there. Still standing. That's where we start.

The Scott Mansion was built between 1908 and 1910, raised up for the family of Rufus Fenner Scott, Sr., a prominent businessman who lived from 1848 to 1932. The man who drew up the plans was J. L.

Wees, a German-born architect who left his fingerprints all over Paris, responsible for many of the town's civic and commercial buildings. Now, Wees didn't just slap up a box and call it done. He gave this house a combination of art nouveau and Dutch renaissance styling.

Two very different design traditions, and somehow he made them shake hands. The result was something Paris hadn't quite seen before. And Paris noticed.

The town was growing in the early twentieth century, and this mansion was very much a part of that story, a symbol of what was being built, what was being aspired to. Then came 1916. The fire.

Whatever that fire took from Paris, it did not take this. The Scott Mansion survived. Which is exactly why it still stands today as a significant reminder of the area's growth in those early years.

Some buildings just refuse to be forgotten.

What the marker says

This Paris landmark was built between 1908 and 1910 for the family of prominent businessman Rufus Fenner Scott, Sr. (1848-1932). Designed by German-born architect J. L. Wees, who is responsible for many of the town's civic and commercial buildings, the Scott Mansion exhibits a combination of art nouveau and Dutch renaissance styling. A survivor of the Paris fire of 1916, it stands as a significant reminder of the area's growth in the early twentieth century. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1984