DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, I'm followin' the lead of the Texas Historical Commission — their markers put me on this road, and this one's worth every mile. Now settle in, because this is the story of Rose Hill, and it's got all the ingredients: a boomtown on the Gulf Coast, a man with ambition, and a house that outlasted them all. We're in Jefferson County, just outside Port Arthur, and the year is 1896.
That's when Arthur E. Stilwell — president of the Kansas City Southern Railroad — looked out at this stretch of Texas coast and decided to organize a townsite company and build himself a city. Just like that.
Port Arthur, rising up from practically nothing. And right behind Stilwell, like a man who could smell opportunity from Chicago, came R.H. Woodworth.
He arrived with his bride Mary, and they planted their first roots on Nashville Avenue. Woodworth was not a man to stand still. He started as an independent real estate dealer — smart work in a town that was still figuring out where to put its streets — and then he pivoted to banking, because that's where a growing city keeps its heartbeat.
By 1902, Port Arthur had seen enough of R.H. Woodworth to hand him the keys. He became the city's third mayor.
Third. Meaning two people held that job before him, and the town was still young enough that you could count its mayors on one hand with fingers to spare. But here's where the story really takes shape.
In 1906, Woodworth hired a man named J.H. Baxter of the Griffing Lumber Company and gave him a commission: build something worthy. What Baxter delivered was a Classical Revival mansion — wide verandas reaching out from an impressive columned portico — sitting on what was then the edge of town.
The edge of town. Can you picture it? This grand, columned structure with nothing but possibility stretching out beyond it.
They called the property Rose Hill. And inside that house, R.H. and Mary Woodworth built a life. They raised their children, George and Phebe, within those walls.
They opened the doors to friends, to neighbors, to the social fabric of a city finding its footing in the early 20th century. Numerous gatherings, the marker tells us — and you get the sense that Rose Hill was less a private home than a kind of anchor for Port Arthur society. Now Mary Woodworth was no silent figure in all this.
She served as a director of the First National Bank and was active in the Department Club of Port Arthur. The woman had range. R.H.
Woodworth passed in 1923, and Mary carried on until 1946. And before she went, she made her wishes known: Rose Hill was not to be sold off, divided up, or forgotten. Her daughter Phebe honored that.
In 1947, Phebe gave Rose Hill to the city, to be cared for by the Department Club of Port Arthur — the very organization her mother had served. The Texas Historical Commission set their Recorded Texas Historic Landmark marker here in 1978, a hundred feet southwest of the house at the sidewalk, and the mansion still stands — a meeting place for community groups, a center for social and cultural events, that columned portico watching over a city that grew up all around it. A man came from Chicago with a bride and a plan, hired a good builder, and raised a family on the edge of town.
And the town, it turned out, grew up to surround what he left behind.
What the marker says
[RTHL medallion and plate on house] (Rose Hill) J.H. Baxter of the Griffing Lumber Company built this residence in 1906 for R.H. Woodworth (d. 1923). Wide verandas extend beyond the impressive columned portico of the Classical Revival structure. Woodworth, a business and civic leader, and his wife Mary (d. 1946) hosted numerous social gatherings here in the early 20th century. Since 1947, the house has been in the care of the Department Club of Port Arthur. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1978 [27" x 42" marker 100 feet SW of the house at the sidewalk] (Rose Hill) In 1896 Arthur E. Stilwell, president of the Kansas City Southern Railroad, organized a townsite company to settle Port Arthur. Soon afterward, R.H. Woodworth (d. 1923) moved here from Chicago with his bride Mary (d. 1946). They erected their first home on Nashville Avenue. An independent real estate dealer, Woodworth later entered the banking business. He served as Port Arthur's third mayor in 1902. He hired J. H. Baxter of the Griffing Lumber Company to construct this Classical Revival mansion in 1906. This property was then located on the edge of town. When it was completed, the residence reflected Woodworth's position as a business and social leader. Here the Woodworths raised their children, George and Phebe, and often entertained friends. Mrs. Woodworth served as a director of the First National Bank and was active in the Department Club of Port Arthur. In accordance with her wishes, her daughter Phebe gave Rose Hill to the city in 1947 to be cared for by the Department Club. The elegant structure is maintained as a meeting place for various community groups and as a center for social and cultural events. (1978)