DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Fort Worth has seen its share of grand gestures, but few as grand as what went up on Summit Avenue in 1903. The architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats designed it — a Georgian Revival structure, the kind of building that makes you stop your car and just stare.
It was built for A.B. Wharton and his bride Electra, and from the very start, this house had a personality all its own. Electra's daddy, by the way, was W.T.
Waggoner — a rancher of considerable standing — and if you think that detail doesn't matter, well, just keep listenin'. Electra herself gave the mansion its name: Thistle Hill. Not 'the big house' or 'the Wharton place.' Thistle Hill.
A name with thorns in it, which somehow suits the story just fine. Now, cattlemen-investor Winfield Scott had his eye on this place, and in 1910 he bought it. Here's where the story takes a turn that even a novelist might think twice about using.
Winfield Scott never moved in. He died before he ever crossed that threshold as the owner. His wife Elizabeth, though — she made Thistle Hill her home and lived there until her own death in 1935.
The house stood witness to all of it. After Elizabeth, the Girls' Service League took up residence from 1940 all the way to 1968. And when that chapter closed, the question hanging over Fort Worth was a simple and urgent one: what now?
The answer came in 1976, when a group calling themselves Save the Scott Home! Incorporated stepped up and purchased the place. Thistle Hill had outlasted cattle barons, outlasted grief, outlasted decades of change — and somebody decided it wasn't done yet.
What the marker says
Designed by Sanguinet & Staats, this Georgian Revival structure was built in 1903 for A.B. Wharton (1878-1963) and his bride Electra (1882-1925), daughter of rancher W.T. Waggoner (1852-1934). Electra named the mansion "Thistle Hill". Cattlemen-investor Winfield Scott (1849-1911) bought the home in 1910 but died before he moved in. His wife Elizabeth (1861-1935) lived here until her death. Occupied by the Girls' Service League, 1940-1968, the house was purchased in 1976 by "Save the Scott Home!" Inc.