DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of the official marker for the Trotter House in Ellis County, and friend, this one's got more layers than a good brisket. Now it all starts with a man named Jasper Preston Sewell Junior — though everybody who knew him called him Jake. Born in 1878, Jake was the kind of fellow who moved with purpose.
In November of 1912, he walked right up to three lots sitting south of Midlothian's business district and said, mine. He didn't build on them right away, though. Jake was playing a longer game.
First things first — in 1915, Jake married Nettie Witherspoon Sewell, born in 1886, and the two of them were no strangers to each other's world. They'd both attended Polytechnic Institute right there in Midlothian. So when the time came to build something worthy of their lives together, they knew exactly what they wanted.
That time came after 1918. And here's where it gets interesting: the money that raised those walls most likely flowed in from dividends — shares in the Hog Creek Oil Company. Say what you want about Texas, but she has always had a way of rewarding the patient.
Jake himself was tied up in the Producers Co-Op Mill and several other businesses besides, and he sat on the Midlothian school board to boot. The man had his hands in the community up to the elbows. But let's talk about this house, because it is something to behold.
Built of brick, stone, and wood in the arts and crafts and prairie school styles, it announced itself with a large front porch held up by wide supporting columns, overhanging eaves, decorative rafter ends, and triangular brackets cutting sharp against the Texas sky. There was a porte-cochere — that's a covered carriage entrance, for the uninitiated — and out back, a two-car garage with an upstairs apartment. Jake and Nettie were not thinking small.
Step inside, and the house keeps its promises. Oak floors, wainscoting, moldings, an open floor plan that breathes. Two fireplaces — one in the living room, one in the family room — each crowned with an artisan mantelpiece.
Rookwood tiles. A curved staircase rising to the upper floor. Light pouring in through double-hung windows from just about every direction.
Down below: a large foyer, breakfast room, dining room, living areas, kitchen, bath, and a sunroom. Up above: two bedrooms, a sitting area, a bath, another sunroom, and a balcony where a person could stand and look out over Midlothian and feel like they'd built something that mattered. The Sewells did sell the house — and eight and a half acres — in 1933.
But Nettie, she wasn't done with the place just yet. In the late 1930s, she opened those rooms to single female teachers working in Midlothian schools, which tells you something about the kind of woman she was. She lived all the way to 1978, ninety-two years on this earth.
The folks who came next stayed a good long while. Clyde P. Trotter, born in 1893, and his wife Cloma Hanson Trotter, born in 1903, occupied that house for more than fifty years.
They had no children. When Clyde passed in 1970, Cloma carried on. And Cloma was no ordinary resident — she became a civic leader and the first female mayor of Midlothian.
When she died in 1987, she left the house to the Salvation Army. A life lived in that home, and then a final act of generosity on the way out the door. The marker went up in 2017, and the house's name honors those fifty-plus years of Trotter occupation.
But if you stand on that wide front porch and look up at those triangular brackets and those overhanging eaves, you're really looking at Jake Sewell's vision, raised on oil dividends and ambition, in Midlothian, Ellis County, Texas. Some houses outlast everybody who ever loved them — and just keep standing there, daring you to do the same.
What the marker says
Jasper “Jake” Preston Sewell, Jr. (1878-1961) bought three lots south of Midlothian’s business district in November 1912. In 1915, Jake married Nettie (Witherspoon) Sewell (1886-1978). The Sewells, who attended Polytechnic Institute in Midlothian, commissioned this house to be built after 1918, most likely with dividends from shares in the Hog Creek Oil Company. Jake was associated with Producers Co-Op Mill and several other businesses and was a member of the Midlothian school board. In the late 1930s, Nettie let rooms in their house to single female teachers in Midlothian schools. The Sewells sold the house and 8.5 acres in 1933. For more than 50 years, the house was occupied by Clyde P. Trotter (1893-1970) and his wife, Cloma (Hanson) Trotter (1903-1987). The couple had no children, and Cloma, who was a civic leader and the first female mayor of Midlothian, left the house to the salvation army. The house’s architecture exhibits arts and crafts and prairie school styling in its design, materials and construction. Significant features of this brick, stone and wood house include its large front porch with wide supporting columns, overhanging eaves, decorative rafter ends, and triangular brackets. The design also includes a porte-cochere and a two-car garage with upstairs apartment behind the house. The interior exhibits an open floor plan, oak floors, wainscoting and moldings, fireplaces in the living room and family room with artisan mantelpieces. Other features include Rookwood tiles, a curved staircase leading to the upper floor, and natural light from numerous double-hung windows. First floor spaces include a large foyer, breakfast and dining rooms, living areas, kitchen, bath and a sunroom. The second floor was designed with two bedrooms, a sitting area, bath, sunroom, and balcony. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2017