William B. and Sue J. Houston House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the William B. and Sue J. Houston House in Gonzales County. Now settle in, because this one's about a man who built something meant to last.

William Buckner Houston was born in 1852, a native of De Witt County, and by the time his story really gets going, he'd made himself into a successful rancher, a landowner, and a civic leader right there in Gonzales. That's no small thing. That's a life's work stacked three stories high.

And in 1898, he and his second wife, Susan Jones Houston, went ahead and proved it. They built a home on Houston family land, and they did not build small. Now, his mother Julia lived there too, which tells you something about how this family understood the word home.

The house stayed in Houston family hands all the way until 1952. That's a long run, and the house earned it. The style is Queen Anne, and if you've ever stood in front of a Queen Anne house and felt like the building was showing off a little, well, this one had every right.

Three stories tall, asymmetrical, the kind of structure that doesn't look the same from any two angles. There's a wrapped porch pulling you around the whole front of the thing. A round corner turret rising up with a belvedere at the top, which is just a fancy word for a perch with a view, and trust me, three stories up in Gonzales, you've got one.

A two-story balcony. Arched entryway. Bay windows.

Brackets and shingling doing decorative work that would make a carpenter proud. And then there's the carriage porte cochere, a covered passage for arriving in style, because William Buckner Houston, rancher and civic leader, knew a thing or two about an entrance. He died in 1916, but the house he and Susan built in 1898 kept right on standing.

Some buildings outlast their builders by a generation. This one outlasted several, and it's still here to prove it.

What the marker says

William Buckner Houston (1852-1916), a native of De Witt County, became a successful rancher, landowner and civic leader in Gonzales. He and his second wife, Susan Jones Houston, built this home in 1898 on Houston family land. His mother, Julia, also lived here. The house remained in the family until 1952. Queen Anne in style, the three-story structure is asymmetrical, with a wrapped porch, round corner turret and two-story balcony. Details include shingling, arched entryway, carriage porte cochere, bay windows, brackets and a belvedere in the turret. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2003