Tucker-Smith House

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and here's how I'm gonna tell it to you. Somewhere in Williamson County stands a house that couldn't quite make up its mind, and honestly, that's what makes it worth stoppin' for. The story begins in 1892, when a prominent local lumber man by the name of J.

E. Tucker built himself a residence. And when a lumber man builds a house, you can bet he means business.

Tucker went full Queen Anne style, which in 1892 was the thing to do if you wanted folks to know you'd arrived. Now the Queen Anne style has a certain flair to it, a certain look-at-me quality that suited the era just fine. So there it stood.

Then, in 1905, a man named Decker Franklin Smith purchased the house. New owner, same house. For a while, anyway.

Because here's where the story takes a turn. By 1916, Decker Franklin Smith decided that Queen Anne simply wasn't going to cut it anymore. The Mission style was gaining popularity in Texas, and Smith was paying attention.

So in 1916, he didn't tinker around the edges. He extensively remodeled the whole thing. What came out the other side had a wraparound porch, paired Doric columns, and quatrefoil windows.

That last detail, quatrefoil windows, is the kind of thing that stops you mid-sentence when you see it. Smith lived in that remodeled house, the house he had reshaped to his vision, until 1920. Two owners, two styles, one address in Williamson County.

Some houses carry one story. This one carries at least two.

What the marker says

Built in 1892 by prominent local lumber man J. E. Tucker, this residence originally reflected the Queen Anne style. Decker Franklin Smith purchased the house in 1905. In 1916 Smith extensively remodeled the house in the Mission style, which was then gaining popularity in Texas. Its prominent features include a wraparound porch, paired Doric columns, and quatrefoil windows. Smith continued to live here until 1920. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1991