The McFarlane House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the McFarlane House in Fort Bend County. Now settle in, because this one's got some ground to cover. We're talking Scotland, the Civil War, a merchant's rise, and a house that stood by one family for nearly a century.

Isaac McFarlane came into this world in 1840, born a native of Scotland. How he ended up riding with Terry's Texas Rangers during the Civil War is one of those journeys the marker doesn't spell out for us, but there he was, a Scotsman in Confederate gray, serving with one of the most storied cavalry outfits Texas ever produced. He made it through.

And after the war, Isaac McFarlane planted himself in Richmond and built something lasting. He became a successful merchant, the kind of man a town remembers. By the early 1880s, he had enough standing, and enough family, to warrant a proper home.

He hired a local builder by the name of Thomas Culshaw to put it up, and Thomas Culshaw did not disappoint. Now, this wasn't just four walls and a roof. Culshaw gave the place Italianate hood molds over the windows and doors, the kind of architectural flourish that says somebody here had taste and wasn't shy about it.

And up on the roof ridge, cut metal cresting, detailed ironwork silhouetted against the Texas sky. A house built to be noticed. Isaac McFarlane lived until 1900, and when he was gone, the house stayed in the family.

Generation after generation, the McFarlane name on that deed, right up until 1979. Nearly a hundred years under one family's care. That's not just a house.

That's a statement.

What the marker says

A native of Scotland, Isaac McFarlane (1840-1900) served with Terry's Texas Rangers during the Civil War and later became a successful merchant in Richmond. This home was constructed for his family in the early 1880s by local builder Thomas Culshaw. Prominent features include the Italianate hood molds over the windows and doors and the cut metal cresting on the roof ridge. Ownership of the house remained with the McFarlane family until 1979. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1985