Sidbury-Savage House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Sidbury-Savage House in Nueces County. Now settle in, because this one house carries more lives inside its walls than most neighborhoods ever see. Edward D.

Sidbury was born in North Carolina in 1838, and by 1867 he had made his way to Corpus Christi. He didn't waste any time getting to work. Soon after he arrived, he opened a lumber business.

Then he went and built a commercial wharf at the end of Cooper's Alley, served by a line of the Texas-Mexican Railroad. The man was building a whole operation, piece by piece. And somewhere before 1875, he built this Greek Revival residence, originally sitting on North Carancahua Street in the Bluff Addition to the city.

A handsome house for a man on the rise. Then he married Charlotte Cook Scott, born in 1830, a widow whose first husband, rancher John Wesley Scott, had died in 1867. Charlotte brought her own story to that front door.

And here's where it gets interesting. Edward Sidbury died in 1881. Now a lesser story might end right there.

But Charlotte didn't fold. She took over management of the family lumber company, and she went on to become a prominent business and civic leader of Corpus Christi. She lived in that house and she ran that company and she built a reputation that outlasted her husband's by decades.

Charlotte herself passed in 1904, and that same year the home was inherited by her grandson, Rayburn Savage. He lived there with his family until his death in 1941. Five years after that, his wife Alice, Alice Ricklefsen Savage, had the house picked up and moved.

Moved entire, to this location, part of the old Irishtown neighborhood. Why here? Because this ground had meaning.

This was the site of her parents' house, a house that was destroyed by the 1919 hurricane. Alice herself passed in 1949. Later owners made additions and interior alterations to provide a larger living area.

One house. North Carolina to Corpus Christi. A lumber wharf.

A Greek Revival façade on a Bluff Addition lot. A widow who ran the company. A grandson who called it home.

And finally, moved across town to rest on the bones of a house the storm took. The Sidbury-Savage House has been a lot of things to a lot of people. But it's still standing.

What the marker says

Edward D. Sidbury (1838-1881), a native of North Carolina, migrated to Corpus Christi in 1867. Soon after his arrival, he opened a lumber business. He later built a commercial wharf at the end of coopers alley, served by a line of the Texas-Mexican railroad. Sidbury constructed this greek revival residence prior to 1875, when he married Charlotte (Cook) Scott (1830-1904), the widow of rancher John Wesley Scott (d. 1867). It was originally located on north Carancahua Street in the bluff addition to the city. Charlotte continued to live in the house following Sidbury's death in 1881. She took over management of the family lumber company and later became a prominent business and civic leader of Corpus Christi. In 1904 the home was inherited by her grandson Rayburn Savage. He lived in the residence with his family until his death in 1941. Five years later his wife Alice (Ricklefsen) (d. 1949) had it moved to this location, part of the old irishtown neighborhood. The property was the site of her parents' house, which was destroyed by the 1919 hurricane. Additions and interior alterations to the home were made by later owners in order to provide a larger living area.