DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'll tell it to you. Back in 1875, somebody built a home that was worth remembering — and that somebody was Alphonse W. Perrin.
Born in New York City in 1848, to French parents, Alphonse wasn't exactly what you'd picture when you think of a Texas settler. But Texas has always had a way of callin' to people from just about everywhere. Alphonse drew up the plans himself — original plans, mind you — and from those plans rose the Perrin Home.
Now, he didn't make the journey alone. He had his bride with him, Mina Carr, who came all the way from Wisconsin. Two people from two different corners of the country, meeting somewhere in the middle and then heading south together.
What brought them to Texas? The marker says it plainly: they were seekin' a better climate. They didn't ride straight to where they'd put down roots, either.
First they landed at Leon Springs, getting the lay of the land, feeling out this new place they'd chosen. Then, when the time was right, they moved on — settling near the banks of the Salado Creek. And it was there, on that ground, beside that creek, that Alphonse built the home from those plans he'd drawn with his own hand.
A New Yorker of French blood, a Wisconsin bride, and a house rising up near a Texas creek. That's how a home gets made.
What the marker says
Built 1875 from original plans drawn by Alphonse W. Perrin, born in New York City, 1848, of French parents. Perrin and bride, Mina Carr of Wisconsin, came to Texas seeking a better climate, first living at Leon Springs, then settling here near the banks of the Salado Creek. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1968