DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker's the source here, and I'm just the one bringin' it to life — so let me tell you about the House of the Seasons. There's a house sitting in Marion County that knows how to keep a secret — or at least, how to make you think it does. Built in 1872 for a man named Benjamin H.
Epperson, it gets its name from something you have to look up to understand. Way up at the top of the house sits a cupola, and that cupola is fitted with stained glass windows — and those windows, depending on where the light falls, create an illusion of the seasons of the year. Not just a name.
A performance, every single day, without the house doin' a thing. Now the house itself is something architects like to argue about in a good way. It sits right on the line between two great styles — Greek Revival on one side, Victorian on the other — and it refuses to fully commit to either one.
In its overall plan and form, it's Greek Revival, clean and proud. But then you start noticin' the details. Tall arched windows.
Bracketed cornices. A gallery. That cupola.
Projecting bay windows. Those are Victorian touches, and specifically Italianate ones, and they give the whole structure this feeling of a building that knows exactly how elegant it wants to be. And there's one more thing inside that stops people cold.
There's a circular opening in the first floor ceiling — and if you stand beneath it and look up, you're looking straight into frescoes painted in the dome above. The house has been showing off from the start, and it has earned every bit of it. Now, the man who built it — Benjamin Epperson, born in 1826, died in 1878 — was no ordinary citizen.
He was a confidant of Sam Houston. A distinguished lawyer, a political leader, an entrepreneur. He served many terms in the Texas Legislature.
In 1866, he was elected to the United States Congress — but he never served, because the southern delegations were not seated. That's a fact that lands quietly, but it lands hard. When Epperson built this house, he was listed as one of the wealthiest men in the state, and was respected as a major influence in Texas politics.
He built to match. The house has outlasted all of it — the politics, the fortune, the man himself. Throughout most of its history, it's served as a residence.
But it's also been a boarding house. And at one point, it became the main building of Jefferson College, a college specifically for World War II veterans. Seasons change, people come and go, and that cupola just keeps throwing its colors across the room — spring, summer, fall, winter — right on schedule, like it always has.
The House of the Seasons has been putting on that show since 1872, and it doesn't appear to be stoppin' anytime soon.
What the marker says
Built in 1872 for Benjamin H. Epperson, the House of the Seasons derives its name from the cupola with its stained glass windows that create an illusion of the seasons of the year. The home is a fine example of the transition period between Greek revival and Victorian styles of architecture. In plan and overall form, it is Greek revival. However, the detailing is Victorian with certain Italianate characteristics, such as the tall arched windows, the bracketed cornices, the gallery, the cupola, and the projecting bay windows. The circular opening in the first floor ceiling allows a view of the frescoes in the dome. Benjamin Epperson (1826-1878), a confidant of Sam Houston, was a distinguished lawyer, political leader, and entrepreneur. He served many terms in the Texas Legislature and was elected to the U. s. Congress in 1866, but did not serve because the southern delegations were not seated. When he built the house, Epperson was listed as one of the wealthiest men in the state and was respected as a major influence in Texas politics. Throughout most of its history, the House of the Seasons has served as a residence. It has also been used as a boarding house and as the main building of Jefferson College, a World War II veterans' college. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1965