Winniford House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Winniford House in Dallas County. Now settle in, because this family's story covers a lot of ground: Kentucky, California, and a stretch of Texas prairie that one family held onto for generations. William Johnson Winniford was born in Kentucky in 1827, and somewhere along the way he caught the Texas fever.

In 1845 he came to Texas as a Peters Colonist, one of those folks who answered the call to settle this big, wide country. But William wasn't done roaming just yet. He joined California's Gold Rush, chased whatever fortune he was after out west, and then (and here's the part that says something about a man) he came back.

Back to Texas. In 1853 he homesteaded 320 acres right here on this ground. Three hundred and twenty acres.

He put down roots the way a man does when he's finally done looking. Then in 1865, William married Sarah Allen Lewis, and the Winniford name started putting on branches. Their son John L.

Winniford came into the world in 1870, and John would carry this land forward. John married Emma L. Batchler, born in 1875, and I want you to hold onto that for just a moment, and together they built this house in 1913.

They reared four children on these acres. Corn, cattle, and cotton. The holy trinity of Texas farm life.

Now the house itself is something worth describing, because John's brother Andrew designed it, and Andrew had an eye. Prairie school style, they call it: a foursquare plan, a large hipped roof, dormers reaching up toward the sky, and these distinctive multi-light windows that catch the light just so. It's the kind of house that was built to last and knew it.

And here's what I want you to sit with: Emma L. Batchler Winniford was born in 1875 and lived until 1973. Ninety-eight years on this earth, nearly a century of it spent in and around this very place.

The house and farm complex, to this day, remain in the Winniford family. In 1978, Winniford Morton and Harry Lewis restored it; kept the whole thing standing, kept the story going. William came here with nothing but a land grant and a wanderer's spirit in 1845.

One hundred and forty-nine years later, the family was still there. Some roots, once they take hold in Texas soil, just don't let go.

What the marker says

Kentucky native William Johnson Winniford (1827 - 1915) came to Texas as a Peters Colonist in 1845. A participant in California's Gold Rush, he returned and homesteaded 320 acres here in 1853. He married Sarah Allen Lewis in 1865. Their son, John L. (1870 - 1946) and his wife Emma L. Batchler (1875 - 1973), built this house in 1913, reared 4 children and raised corn, cattle, and cotton. Designed by John's brother, Andrew, the prairie school style house features a foursquare plan with large hipped roof, dormers, and distinctive multi-light windows. The house and farm complex remain in the Winniford family. RTHL 0 1994 Restored by Winniford Morton and Harry Lewis in 1978