DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the one telling this tale — I'm just the voice carrying it down the road. Now, William Benjamin Munson was born way up in Fulton County, Illinois, in 1846, but Texas had a way of pulling ambitious men southward. Before we get to the house that still stands on Morton Street, though, we have to follow the man who built it — and that journey is something else.
Munson had the distinction of being the very first graduate of Kentucky's Agricultural and Mechanical College in 1869. First. Not second, not in the top ten — the first.
The school would later become the University of Kentucky, but in 1869 it was brand new, and Munson walked out its door carrying that honor. By 1871, he'd moved to Texas, settled in Sherman, and started studying law. A man who already had one college under his belt and was now picking up a second trade.
You get the sense he wasn't the type to sit still. Then came the railroad, and with it, the opportunity that would define a good chunk of his life. Munson partnered with R.
S. Stevens — general manager of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad, the M-K-T, the one everybody called the Katy — to buy land that would become the new railroad town of Denison. From that foothold, Munson spread his interests wide: timber, real estate, banking, ranching.
He served as president of the First National Bank of Denison. He organized Denison Power and Light Company. He built a coal company and rail lines that the Katy would later buy right back.
And on top of all that, he donated more than two hundred acres of land, plus money for park improvements, to the growing city of Denison. The man was not just building a fortune — he was building a place. In 1876, Munson married Mary Ella Newton, born in 1852.
They lived first in Sherman, then moved to Denison, and together they had six children. Life was full. And by 1910, with decades of work behind them, they decided it was time for a proper home.
Munson knew a St. Louis architect named Otto David Schmidt — knew him from Schmidt's work with various railroads, the Katy among them — and he retained Schmidt to design the family's new home on Morton Street. Schmidt delivered a two-story brick and stone neoclassical home.
A curved portico supported by Ionic columns. A Ludowici clay tile roof. A graceful porte-cochere on the east side.
The kind of house that says, without shouting, that the man who commissioned it had been paying attention to beauty his whole life, even while building banks and rail lines. Construction began in 1912, carried out by Michael Thorn. Landscaping was handled by Lambert's.
When it was finished, the home had four bedrooms, a fully built-out attic, a partial basement, and a detached carriage house that would later be converted to a garage — the one quiet concession the property made to a changing century. William Benjamin Munson lived until 1930. Mary Ella Newton Munson lived until 1951, nearly reaching the century mark herself, born in 1852 and carrying ninety-nine years of a life well-anchored.
Ownership of the home eventually passed to their daughter Eloise. The house spent a few years outside the family in the 1970s, but stewardship found its way back to the Munsons. First graduate.
Railroad partner. Banker, rancher, civic donor, and the man who hired just the right architect. The house on Morton Street is still standing — and now you know why it's worth a long look.
What the marker says
William Benjamin Munson (1846-1930) was born in Fulton County, Illinois. He was the first graduate of Kentucky’s Agricultural and Mechanical College (later, University of Kentucky) in 1869. He had moved to Texas by 1871, settling in Sherman and studying law. Munson later partnered with R.S. Stevens, general manager of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas railroad (M-K-T, or Katy), to buy land that would become the new railroad town of Denison. Munson had varied business interests in timber, real estate, banking and ranching. He served as president of the First National Bank of Denison. He organized Denison Power and Light Co. As well as a coal company and rail lines later bought by the Katy. Also an active civic leader, he donated more than 200 acres of land and money for park improvements to the growing city of Denison. Munson married Mary Ella Newton (1852-1951) in 1876. The couple lived first in Sherman, then in Denison, and had six children. In 1910, they retained St. Louis architect Otto David Schmidt, whom Munson had known for his work with various railroads including the Katy, to design a new home for the family on Morton Street. Schmidt designed a two-story brick and stone neoclassical home. Its design featured a curved portico supported by ionic columns, a Ludowici clay tile roof and a graceful porte-cochere on the east side. Construction began in 1912 by Michael Thorn; landscaping was done by lambert’s. The home features four bedrooms, a fully built-out attic and partial basement, and a detached carriage house later converted to a garage. Ownership of the home transferred to ben and Mary Ella’s daughter, Eloise, and after a few years outside the family in the 1970s, stewardship returned to the Munson family. RECORDED TEXAS HISTORIC LANDMARK – 2013