Articles
The Wright-Henderson-Duncan House
The three principal owners of this home each served terms as sheriff of Hood county. A.J. Wright (1819-1889) began the limestone structure about 1873 as a one story dogtrot dwelling. James F. Henderson, who acquired the house in 1881, added the second floor and Victorian galleries. Charles M. Duncan (1878-1957) and his wife Emma (Wade), owners for a long period in the 20th century, helped preserve the residence.
Located at 703 Spring Street in Granbury about one mile southeast of the Hood County Courthouse is the Wright Henderson-Duncan House. This house is situated on approximately two acres of grounds. None of the outbuildings which were of wood construction and consisted of a barn, carriage house and privy are extant. The Wright-Henderson-Duncan House is a two-story limestone structure; the result of several different building phases. The original structure was begun about 1873 by a well known local builder, William Trawick, and was constructed of limestone quarried locally in Hood County. The actual date of construction cannot be confirmed although evidence indicates that this house is of the same decade as other Hood County quarried limestone buildings known to have been constructed in the early 1870's. The plan of the original structure conformed to the two-room or "dog-trot" house type much used by frontier settlers and consisted of a one story structure with two large rooms separated by an open breeze-way or dog-trot. stone chimneys were constructed at the east and west ends of the house. Exterior measurements were 51.4 feet by 214.2 feet. The hand-hewn coursed limestone walls were 15 feet in height and 18 inches thick. Doors opened from the two rooms onto the dog-trot. The additions and alterations of the next building phase in the 1890s have obscured the original features of this frontier house such as, the type of windows, doors, roof, and interior details.
The remodeling that occurred in the 1890's considerably altered and enlarged the house. The property changed hands in 1891 and the new owner, J. F. Henderson, added a second story in the same hand-hewn limestone, distinguishable from the earlier construction by lighter colored mortar.
The chimneys were extended to serve the upper floor and the open North and South ends of the dogtrot were enclosed with limestone. An entrance door was placed in the new North wall with transom and side lights. A double gallery of wood decorated with jigsawed brackets, balustrade and Victorian trim was constructed across the central three bays for the front north facade. The rear of the house on the south facade received two rooms forming an "ell" to the main house on the west. A long open porch provided access to these rooms which served as the kitchen and dining rooms and was entered from the south end of the enclosed dog-trot. All of the window (except those on the new addition begun in 1969) date from the 1891 remodeling and have the tall narrow proportions of the late 19th century with low arched headings, double hung sash and 2/2 lights. The house was covered with a picturesque jerkinhead gable roof on which the end gables are clipped. A front facade wall dormer over the central bay also has a clipped gable.
In the interior, a winding stair of oak leads to three large rooms approximately 18 by 18 feet on the second floor. Other original features retained from the 1891 building phase are the wide plank flooring of 1 by 12 inch pine; the deep window seats formed throughout the house by the thick walls; the natural pine and oak trim; a beaded board wainscoting of oak; and the Victorian fireplace mantles.
Alterations and additions were made to the house again after 1928 when C. M. Duncan installed electricity and plumbing and topped the house with standing seam metal roofing. The wooden Victorian double gallery which was in a deteriorated state of repair was removed and a random limestone entrance porch consisting of three arches was constructed. Above the porch the area was enclosed to accommodate bathrooms. The rear "ell" of the house Duncan removed and constructed a new lean-to addition faced with random limestone across the rear facade. It housed the kitchen and dining area. Next to the well at the southeast corner of the house Duncan installed a windmill.
In 1969 when Dr. and Mrs. F. E. Ingerson inherited the property, work was begun to restore the house to its 1891 appearance. They removed the stone front entrance porch which Duncan installed and constructed a double veranda similar to the 1891 veranda. The rear lean-to addition was removed and a completely new constructed faced with hand- hewn limestone salvaged from a demolished late 19th century mill structure located nearby. This addition is compatible with the main house in material and design. The standing seam metal roof was replaced with wood shingles. The house will remain as a private residence. The Wright-Henderson-Duncan house was built by Hood County Sheriff A. J. Wright, and in later years was a home for two other Hood County Sheriffs, J. F. Henderson and C. M. Duncan. The original structure, a mid 19th century stone house with a dog-trot plan was a frontier homestead for Wright. During the tenure of the Henderson family the house developed into an important example in Granbury of the transitional style between Greek Rev. and Victorian architecture; the Symmetrical Victorian.
Early history and the exact date for construction of the house are obscured by the lack of records for the site which was homesteaded by A. J. Wright. Settlers largely from Missouri squatted on the land that would later become Granbury and environs and eventually purchased their homestead properties from Milam County. A.J. Wright (1819 1889) was among those settlers from Missouri. Wright was engaged at various times in cotton farming, stock raising, cattle drives and the mercantile business. At the outbreak of the Civil War Wright returned to Missouri and served as a captain in the Confederate Army. Wright survived the war and returned to this area of Texas. When Hood County was organized in 1866, Wright was elected sheriff. However, state authorities under the Military Government of Reconstruction would not permit Wright, a former Confederate officer, to serve in the office. In 1867, Wright's first wife Elizabeth Nutt Wright died. He married again in 1871 to Miss Margaret Bond and move to Granbury where he was engaged in the mercantile business. It was at this time that Wright hired local builder William Trawick to construct a stone house on the outskirts of town. From 1873 to 1876 Wright did serve as Hood County Sheriff. He retired and moved to Coleman County sometime before his death in 1889. However eight years prior he sold his improvements and interests in the Milam County property that he had home-steadied, to J. F. Henderson in October of that year. Henderson purchased the deed to the property from Milam County in November of 1881. He and his wife, Mary, and five children resided in the house until 1910. Henderson (approx. 1846-1933) was native of Missouri who had visited Granbury in May of 1866, moved there permanently in the Spring of 1872. Henderson served as Hood County deputy-sheriff and jailor before becoming sheriff from 1898-1900.
In 1910, Henderson lost the property and legal judgments began a long line of short term ownerships. The longest term owners to date have been Charles M. and Emma Duncan. Duncan (1879-1957) was a cattleman and rancher who served as sheriff of Hood County from 1936-1940. Late in 1928 Duncan purchased the Wright-Henderson property and some fifty acres. They held the property three years, sold it in 1931, and repurchased the property in 1940. When Mrs. Duncan died in 1969 the house was inherited by their daughter, Mrs. Martha Anna Duncan Ingerson. Dr. and Mrs. Ingerson have restored the house and will use it as a residence.
Bibliography
Ewell, T.T., History of Hood County, reprinted by Jr. Woman's Club, Granbury, Texas, 1956. Complete abstract from Court House records. Pictures - 1915, 1960, & 1977.