The Marsh Place

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1860, when the city of Jefferson was riding high as the greatest river port in the southwest, somebody put up a house. That somebody was Mr. and Mrs.

Dan Parks, and what they built was one of the very early houses in Jefferson. Think about that for a second. The ink was barely dry on the deed when the whole town was buzzing with river traffic, commerce, and the kind of ambition that makes a place feel like it might just last forever.

And that house, it was right in the middle of all of it. Then came 1861. A man named S.

Marsh, born in 1811 and gone by 1870, bought the place. And from that point on, folks just called it the Marsh Place. Now, Marsh himself may have moved on from this world, but the name he left on that house, that stuck around like a guest who never quite gets the hint.

Over the years, various businessmen came and went as owners. The name on the deed kept changing. But the name on everybody's lips stayed the same.

The Marsh Place. Here is where the story gets its real heart, though. For over half a century, that house was home to Sarah Terhune Taylor, known to her circle as Mrs.

H. C. Taylor.

Socially prominent, the kind of woman a town remembers. She was a charter member of the 1881 Club, one of Texas' oldest women's clubs. Half a century under one roof, through all the turning of seasons and the slow fading of Jefferson's river port glory.

The businessmen came and went. The name outlasted them all. And Sarah Terhune Taylor gave that old house something no deed ever could.

She gave it a life.

What the marker says

One of the very early houses in Jefferson-- apparently built by Mr. and Mrs. Dan Parks in 1860, when city was known as greatest river port in the southwest. Bought 1861 by S. Marsh (1811-1870), this was called the Marsh Place for many years, although owned in turn by various businessmen. For over half a century it was home of Sarah Terhune Taylor (Mrs. H. C. Taylor), a socially prominent charter member of 1881 Club, one of Texas' oldest women's clubs. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1972