The Connellee House

Duane's take

The way the marker tells it, here's the story of the Connellee House in Eastland County. Charles U. Connellee arrived in this part of the world in 1874, coming as a surveyor all the way from Kentucky.

And what he found when he got here was a whole lot of wide-open West Texas, waiting to be mapped, measured, and settled. He got to work. He platted the town of Eastland and promoted it as a county seat, and in doing so, opened much of West Texas to settlement.

The man had vision, and he had range. Born in 1851, he'd go on to live until 1930, and the house he built tells a good part of that story right where it stands. In 1876, two years after he rode in with his surveying tools, Connellee built the lower story of his home.

Now, here's a detail worth turning over in your mind. That lumber didn't just appear. Every board was hauled from Dallas by oxwagon.

You think about what that meant, the distance, the time, the sheer stubbornness of that undertaking, and you start to get a sense of the man. And once the house was up, he kept open house for all of West Texas. Not just neighbors.

Not just friends. All of West Texas. That lower story stood on its own for a good long while before a second story was added in 1924.

Then came further remodeling in 1956, again in 1963, and again in 1971. The structure has seen generations come and go across this corner of Eastland County. By the time the marker was recorded, Judge and Mrs.

Austin McCloud were the ones preserving it, keeping alive what Charles U. Connellee started when he rolled into town with a surveyor's eye and a wagonload of lumber from Dallas. Some houses are just places to sleep.

This one was built to hold a whole region.

What the marker says

Home of Charles U. Connellee (1851-1930), who opened much of West Texas to settlement. Coming as a surveyor from Kentucky in 1874, he platted town of Eastland and promoted it as a county seat. He built lower story of his home in 1876, of lumber hauled from Dallas by oxwagon, and kept open house for all of West Texas. Second story was added in 1924. Further remodeled in 1956, 1963, 1971, the structure is preserved by Judge and Mrs. Austin McCloud. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972