Hoopes-Smith House

The Hoopes-Smith House is an excellent illustration of Queen Anne architecture in Rockport, constructed between 1890 and 1892 for James M. Hoopes and his family. Architect D.S. Hopkins signed the original plans, which were apparently ordered from a Sears catalog. T. Noah Smith purchased the property in 1934 and it remained in that family until 1990 when Robert Gossett bought the property. Achieving local significance as a distinct interpretation of Queen Anne architecture.

Rockport was founded in 1867 as a shipping point that primarily serviced the cattle industry. The growing town became the county seat of Refugio County in 1871 and, later that same year became the county seat of the newly established Aransas County. The Aransas Pass Land Company's immigration program, launched in 1885, and the construction of the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad (later Texas and New Orleans) between 1886 and 1889 bolstered the population. By the 1890s fish and oyster shipping were the dominant industries, with tourism beginning to play a strong role in the local economy. Several hotels were built during this period, including the Bayview Hotel, the Monte Christo Hotel, The Aransas (later known as the Del Mar, destroyed by fire in 1919), and La Playa Hotel (obliterated by the 1919 hurricane).

James M. Hoopes and his second wife Carrie moved from Iowa to Texas with their children in December 1888, according to family records. Hoopes had been a lawyer and a banker. They built their house on land owned by James C. and Frances Fulton and obtained the deed on 5 February 1892. Fulton was a prominent local landowner and a member of the influential Coleman-Fulton Pasture Company.

The house is typical of Queen Anne's design. The style, applied to domestic buildings, was dominant in the United States from about 1880 and persisted with decreasing popularity through the first decade of the 20th century. Led by Richard Norman Shaw, a group of 19th-century English architects popularized the style, drawing from late Medieval designs of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. In America, the augmented availability of pre-cut wood, especially architectural details, made possible by expanding railroad networks, helped promote the style. The widespread adoption of balloon framing techniques in the late 19th century facilitated the ability to construct more complicated plans and massing. In addition, the increased availability of pattern books and architectural magazines such as American Architect and Building News escalated the popularity of Queen Anne's houses. Plans, also available through catalogs, especially Sears, Roebuck, and Company (founded in 1886) were widely distributed. While this house was constructed prior to the era most associated with Sears and its Modern Homes Department (1908 to 1940), family tradition states that Hoopes purchased the plans from a Sears catalog.

D.S. Hopkins of Grand Rapids signed the plans and like most "catalog architects," little is known about him. No record exists that he was even in Rockport, which would be expected is the plans were ordered through a catalog. Like many Sears houses, the plans followed popular existing designs and purchasers could adapt the plans to fit their own needs and desires. Original plans for the Hoopes-Smith House, for example, called for a cellar that was never constructed and that the dining room fireplace is set at an angle.

The Hoopes-Smith House exhibits characteristics common to Queen Anne architecture. Protruding bays, corner brackets, integral porches, and the "towers," as well as roof gables decorated with fish scale shingles or geometric patterns, typify the irregular massing of the style. A variety of textures, including fish scale shingles and horizontal wood siding, is used to minimize flat surfaces. The incised barge board and roof cresting are typical of Eastlake design, also part of late Victorian era architecture, although not commonly seen in Texas. Exterior and interior doors and window surrounds are only slightly adorned; window sashes are 1/1 with a large single pane of glass in the upper portion bordered with multiple, small panes of colored glass; doors are paneled and have the same decorative colored glass pattern. The complex, steeply pitched roof is also a distinctive Queen Anne characteristic.

Hoopes was one of 33 men to form the First National Bank of Aransas Pass on 29 July 1890, he served as cashier and secretary of the bank. In 1892 he formed the Texas Land Investment Company with A.J. Perler, T.A. Hord, W.R. Baldwin, and R.H. Wood, acquiring unsold properties from Rockport's early platting. The company had offices in New York, Chicago, Denver, San Antonio, and Austin. In 1902 Hoopes sold his shares in the bank to devote his career to real estate.

Carrie Hoopes died in 1902 and he married a widow, also named Carrie. Both women were integral to the operation of the house. Between 1894 and 1930, the building was not only the family's home but also a hotel and boarding house. A guest register lists lodgers and retains receipts from the City of Rockport for boarding house licenses. The practice started, according to First National Bank records, when the Aransas Hotel had more visitors than it could handle and the owner, Colonel Traylor requested that all "nice" homes open rooms to guests. Most were summer or holiday visitors taking advantage of the numerous recreational activities in and near the community. By the 1920s the tourist trade had become a major industry in Rockport, which offered boating, fishing, a July 4 Regatta, and a Tarpon Rodeo.

Hoopes died in 1931 and T. Noah Smith, Sr., purchased the property in 1934 from the heirs. Smith had been successful in the oil business and, in 1937, he founded the Rockport Yacht and Supply Company [RYSCO). The company first specialized in the sale of recreational boats and later repaired and constructed commercial and recreational vessels. In 1942, the family's private yacht was commandeered as a submarine patrol boat for the World War II effort. When Smith died in 1955 the company became a subsidiary of Luling Oil and Gas Company, Inc.; RYSCO continues to flourish.

Robert Gossett purchased the property in 1990 from the Smith family with the intent of rehabilitating the building and using it as a bed and breakfast. A local landmark in Rockport, the Hoopes-Smith House is a fine example of Queen Anne's design that retains its historical and architectural integrity to a high degree.