49
This magnificent house was built in 1895 by cattle
baron and noted Texas trail driver, William Buckner
Houston. W. B. Houston was born in DeWitt County,
Texas, May 6, 1852. He had two brothers, Robert
A. and James Dunn Houston, and three sisters, Dora
Houston Tinsley, Merry Houston Harris and Minnie
Houston James. At the age of nineteen, he struck out
on his own and, with no backing, became one of the
most successful cattlemen in the state. William owned
6,000 acres in Gonzales county. The magnitude of the
Houston ranching empire is indicated by two articles in
the March 17, 1884, edition of The Gonzales Inquirer.
One article states that "J.D. Houston and others are
shipping 10,000 head of cattle to Wichita Falls." The
other article relates that "J.D. and W.B. Houston will
have 3,000 - 4,000 head of two year olds on the trail
in two weeks." On January 30, 1884, William married
Ada Lewis, and the couple had one daughter, Ada Lewis
Houston. Baby Ada's mother died January 5, 1889.
On December 7, 1892, William married Sue Lewis Jones.
The house William and Sue built is a late Queen Anne
style featuring towers, turrets, wrap-around porches
and other unique architectural embellishments. The
interior is beautifully designed with original parquet
floors, fireplaces, and embossed ceilings. The woodwork
is long leaf pine and includes towering pillars at the
parlor entrance, a magnificent staircase in the foyer,
pocket doors and decorative paneling. A conservatory,
W.B. HOUSTON
HOUSE
621 St. George Street
Photograph by Albrecht Photography
Historical photo courtesy of Gonzales County Archives. Note the porch had an
onion=domed top. This was damaged in the storm of 1910 and replaced with the
current roof structure.
