DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, if you were to sit down and try to dream up the most controversial, most colorful figure in all of Texas history, you might spend a long time at it — and when you were done, you'd probably end up with something that looked a whole lot like Sam Houston. General of the army that won the war for Texas Independence in 1836.
First President of the Republic, also 1836, serving through 1838. The man had range, I'll tell you that. In the course of his eventful career, Houston had lived in Nacogdoches, Liberty, Houston, and Austin.
The man moved around. But in 1847, he and his wife Margaret — she was a Lea before she married him — decided it was time to put down something more permanent. They built a house right there in Huntsville and they called it Woodland.
Now, Houston being Houston, he didn't just quietly move in. He wrote to a friend with full enthusiasm, called it a, quote, bang up place, and noted that the climate was, quote, said to be healthy. Said to be.
Even Sam Houston hedged his bets on the weather. The house itself was built in a style common to the South at the time — squared logs covered with hand-hewn, whitewashed boards. The kitchen and the law office were separate from the main house, built of unfinished squared logs.
Not fancy, but solid. Built to last. And last it did through what the marker calls perhaps the happiest and most prosperous years of Houston's life — the years he served as a U.S.
Senator, from 1846 to 1859. Four of his and Margaret's eight children were born in that house. There was life in those walls.
But nothing that fine stays still forever. In 1859, Houston was elected governor. And that's where the story takes its hard turn.
He was opposed to secession — flat opposed to it — but he could not keep Texas from joining the Confederacy in 1861. For that stand, he was deposed from office. Not resigned.
Deposed. He returned then to his second Huntsville home, a place called the Steamboat House. And it was there, in 1863, that Sam Houston died.
The bang up place, the happy years, the eight children, the Senate chamber, the governor's office — all of it behind him. What the marker leaves you with is a man who won a republic, shaped a state, and in the end couldn't save either one from the thing he feared most. That's the story Woodland holds.
What the marker says
General of the army which won the war for Texas Independence, 1836, and first President of the Republic, 1836-1838, Sam Houston was one of the most controversial and colorful figures in Texas history. In his eventful career, Houston had resided in Nacogdoches, Liberty, Houston, and Austin. He and his wife Margaret (Lea) built this house, "Woodland", in 1847 to provide themselves with a town place. With enthusiasm, he wrote to a friend that the new home was a "bang up place!" and that the climate was "said to be healthy". Houston and his wife lived at Woodland while he was a U.S. Senator, 1846-1859, perhaps the happiest and most prosperous years of his life. Four of their eight children were born here. The house was built in a style common to the South at the time: squared logs covered with hand-hewn, whitewashed boards. The detached kitchen and law office were built of unfinished, squared logs. In 1859 Houston was elected governor but, although opposed to secession, he could not keep Texas from joining the Confederacy in 1861. Deposed from office, he returned to his second Huntsville home, called the "Steamboat House", where he died in 1863.