Tatum Home

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Tatum Home in Navarro County. Now, some houses just sit on a lot. And then there are houses that a family grows into so completely, so thoroughly, that the walls practically remember their names.

The Tatum Home is one of those. William M. Tatum, son of a Corsicana pioneer merchant, built this place before 1900.

And he didn't build modestly. This is a colonial revival style mansion, the kind of structure that announces itself. Massive Ionic columns holding up a two-story porch.

First-floor Palladian windows catching the light. You don't put up columns like that because you're unsure of yourself. Now, William had a son, Clifford A.

Tatum, and Clifford would eventually take over the family hardware business. But before all that, when he was a young man with a new bride, he brought her home. Literally.

He moved her right into his parents' house. That could go a number of ways, as anyone who's ever shared a roof with in-laws might tell you. But here's the thing.

Clifford and his bride didn't just pass through. They stayed. They raised their family inside those walls, under that grand two-story porch, beside those Palladian windows.

They stayed, and they kept staying, and they remained in that home throughout their lives. The family finally sold the house in 1970. After all those years, after all those generations rooted to that one address, somebody eventually had to hand over the keys.

But the columns are still standing.

What the marker says

Built before 1900 by William M. Tatum, son of a Corsicana pioneer merchant, this colonial revival style mansion features first-floor palladian windows. Massive Ionic columns support the two-story porch. Tatum's son Clifford A., who later took over the family hardware business, moved his bride into his parents' home. The younger Tatums raised their family here and remained in the home throughout their lives. The family sold the house in 1970. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983