Wipprecht House

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Wipprecht House in Brazos County. Now settle in, because this one's about a house that outlasted nearly everyone who ever loved it. In 1898, a Bryan architect by the name of George Washington Jenkins put pencil to paper and designed something worth talking about.

The house was built for Julia Kapp Wipprecht, a woman the community knew well, and knew well for good reason. She was a philanthropist, the kind of person a town remembers. And the house Jenkins drew up for her was no modest affair.

Two stories tall, built in the Queen Anne style, with a cross-gabled plan that gives the roofline that particular restless energy, like it can't quite decide which direction it wants to reach. There's a partial-width front porch, textured shingles, and decorative detailing along the gables and eaves. The kind of house that makes you slow down when you drive past it.

Julia Kapp Wipprecht lived there until her death in 1919. After that, her son Walter, a businessman, moved his family in and kept the Wipprecht name right there under that gabled roof. The house stayed in the family.

Years rolled by. Generations passed through those rooms. And it wasn't until 1990, when Walter's granddaughter sold the property, that the house finally left Wipprecht hands.

Nearly a century from the drafting table of George Washington Jenkins, and that Queen Anne was still standing, still showing off those decorative eaves, still telling anyone who'd listen exactly who built it and who called it home.

What the marker says

Designed in 1898 by Bryan architect George Washington Jenkins, this home was constructed for Julia Kapp Wipprecht, who was a well-known local philanthropist. Mrs. Wipprecht lived in the home until here 1919 death, after which her son, businessman Walter Wipprecht, moved with his family into the home. The house remained in the Wipprecht family until 1990, when it was sold by Walter's granddaughter. The two-story Queen Anne-style house features a cross-gabled plan, partial-width front porch, textured shingles, and decorative gable and eave detailing. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2010