DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, some men come to Texas on horseback. Some come by wagon.
William Broyles came by boat to Shreveport, Louisiana — and then, when the water ran out, he walked. On foot, all the way to Palestine, Texas. A native of Huntsville, Alabama, Broyles had come south and west after the Civil War, and whatever he was carrying when he crossed into Anderson County, it wasn't much more than determination and a carpenter's eye for what a place could become.
He put those carpenter's hands to work first. Then he opened a mercantile store near the Anderson County Courthouse. And here's where the story gets interesting — the railroad arrived, the town picked itself up and moved to a new townsite, and William Broyles didn't mourn the old location.
He opened the first store in the new one. The man had a habit of being first. In 1878 he established a lumber business, and that thing grew.
Before long it included a lumberyard, a saw mill, and a cabinet shop. He was a merchant, a real estate investor, and by most measures a man who played an important role in the economic development of Palestine itself. But here's the detail that'll stay with you.
After all that — the walking, the building, the sawdust and ledger books and land deals — William Broyles had a house built for his wife, Caroline. In 1895. He hired a local architect named Luther McKlemurry, and McKlemurry delivered something that Palestine hadn't quite seen before.
The home is what historians call 19th-century eclecticism — Italianate, Queen Anne, Second Empire, all woven together into one structure with a tower reaching skyward, roof cresting running along the top like a crown, and fine milled woodwork throughout. That woodwork, by the way, was crafted by the workers right there at Broyles' Lumber Company. The man built his wife's house with his own business's hands.
Surrounding it all were elaborate flower gardens and an adjacent pecan orchard. A man who walked into Texas with nothing particular but his boots and his ambition — and he ended up raising a tower above Palestine with a pecan orchard out back. Not bad for a man who finished the trip on foot.
What the marker says
A native of Huntsville, Alabama, William Broyles came to Texas following the Civil War. Traveling by boat to Shreveport, Louisiana, he continued his journey to Texas on foot, finally settling in Palestine. Broyles worked as a carpenter and later opened a mercantile store near the Anderson County Courthouse. Following the arrival of the railroad and the subsequent relocation of the town, he opened the first store in the new townsite. In 1878 he established a lumber business which eventually included a lumberyard, saw mill, and cabinet shop. A real estate investor as well as merchant, Broyles played an important role in the economic development of Palestine. He had this home built for his wife, Caroline, in 1895. Designed by local architect Luther McKlemurry, the home is a fine example of 19th-century eclecticism, exhibiting influences of Italinate, Queen Anne, and Second Empire styles. Outstanding features include its tower, roof cresting, and fine milled woodwork crafted by workers at Broyles' Lumber Company. Landscaping originally surrounding the home included elaborate flower gardens and an adjacent pecan orchard. RTHL 1989