DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna let it breathe a little. Thomas V. Munson.
Remember that name, because France sure did. Born in Illinois in 1843, educated in Kentucky, and by 1870 he had done something almost nobody in the state had managed — earned the second degree ever given at Kentucky Agricultural and Mechanical College. Second.
Ever. The man was not interested in being ordinary. That same year, 1870, he married Ellen Scott Bell, and the two of them would go on to have eleven children together.
Eleven. That is not a family, that is a roster. Now, Munson had roots, but he was looking for the right soil, and in 1876 he settled in Denison, Texas.
He became a civic leader, developed extensive nurseries covering wide varieties of plants, and started building a reputation that would eventually cross an ocean. Because here is where the story takes a turn toward the extraordinary. In the 1880s, France was in trouble.
A root disease was tearing through the vineyards — the kind of devastation that keeps winemakers up at night staring at the ceiling. Munson helped France save those vineyards. Helped save them.
And France, being France, was not about to let that go unremarked. In 1888, the French Minister of Agriculture made the trip — came right here, to Denison, Texas — to stand in this house and present Thomas Munson with the Medal of the French Legion of Honor. Munson became the second American ever named to that honor.
Second American. Ever. He and Ellen built this Victorian home of brick with wood trim in 1887, just a year before that remarkable visit, and it still stands.
His scientific papers, filed in Washington, D.C., are still used by horticulturists to this day. Thomas V. Munson died in 1913, but the work outlasted him — the way the best work always does.
A man from Illinois, schooled in Kentucky, rooted in Texas, who helped an entire nation keep its vines alive. Not bad for a nurseryman from Denison.
What the marker says
Home built by world-famed scientist. Munson (1843-1913) was born in Illinois; educated in Kentucky; married Ellen Scott Bell, 1870; had eleven children.Settled in Denison 1876, and developed extensive nurseries.Built this Victorian home of brick with wood trim in 1887. An 1888 guest in the house was French Minister of Agriculture, who came here to give Munson (as reward for saving vineyards) Medal of French Legion of Honor. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967 [marker attached to house] Home of Thomas Munson(1843-1913) World famed grape culturist. Earned second degree ever given at Kentucky A. & M. College (1870) Moved to Denison 1876; became a civic leader and had nurseries for wide varieties of plants. In 1880s helped France save vineyards from root disease, and became second American ever named to French Legion of Honor. His scientific papers filed in Washington, D. C., are still used by horticulturists. He and his wife built this home 1887. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-1967 [marker at curbside]