Johnson House
a.k.a. Masonic Temple
1030 Belvin St., San Marcos, TXThe construction of Lloyd and Jessie Johnson's home on Belvin Street created quite a stir. It was easily the most elaborate, ambitious residence in the San Marcos of 1919. The notice given to the house is well deserved. It is a bold reflection of the Renaissance Revival style so popular earlier in the Northeast. With its low-hipped roofs and indented spaces, the Johnson House even bears a slight resemblance to one of the archetypes of the style, the Breakers of Newport, Rhode Island. Atlee B. Ayres, arguably the best of the early 20th-century Texas architects, designed the home using the finest materials on the interior and exterior.
Johnson, a native San Marcan, was a very wealthy man, having made his fortune as president of the Mutual Mercantile Company and owner of 3,000 acres in Hays County. He was director of the State Bank and Trust Company and president of the Chamber of Commerce. Mrs. Johnson was well-known and active in social and church circles. Reports on the cost of building their home varied widely, from $45,000 to 75,000. At any estimate, it was an expensive project. It appears they gave architect Atlee Ayres a free hand. The house easily measures up to any of the grand mansions he built in San Antonio and elsewhere.
The Johnson family occupied the building until 1937 when it was sold to the Masonic Lodge, which continues to use the building for meetings and social occasions.
Bibliography
New Encyclopedia of Texas, p. 2238.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks files, Texas Historical Commission Interview with Jack Wood, June 10, 1982.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1983.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.