Old Pierce House

Magnolia Hall, the Pierce House, located at 303 N. Columbus Street, in Marshall, Texas, is an outstanding example of mid-19th century residence architecture and among the best-preserved examples of an East Texas Greek Revival raised cottage.

The house was probably built in the 1850s. This date is indicated by the significant change in value from the 1851 sale to that of the 1864 sale. In addition, the wording, "all and singular rights improvements and hereditaments" in the 1864 deed of sale indicates that a house had been erected on the property by that date. The property was owned by James B. Wilson from 1851 to 1856, and George W. Ewell from 1856 to 1864. Since the first page of the 1856 transaction has been removed from the county records, it is impossible to ascertain if the house was built by Wilson or Ewell.

After an eleven-month ownership by Ezekiel and Caroline Schwartz, the house was sold to John H. Lee on November 28, 1865. The property remained in the hands of Lee's descendants for over one hundred years. Lee, an influential planter with extensive holdings in land, sold the property to his daughter, Anna E. Pierce in December 1869, for five hundred dollars less than he had paid for it four years earlier. Anna E. Pierce had married John L. Pierce in January 1867. This was not a happy marriage as evidenced by a subsequent divorce suit. It appears that John Lee sold the house and property located in Block 22 to Anna E. Pierce, singly, to provide her with a home that would not be community property, co-owned by both Anna and John Pierce.

Anna E. Pierce lived in the 303 N. Columbus Street house until her death in the late 1920's. Jack T. Pierce, son of Anna and a lawyer in Marshall, lived in the house until the late 1930s. After his death, the property was owned by Hope Pierce Tartt, the daughter of Anna E. Pierce. Hope Pierce Tartt willed the property to the first Methodist Church in 1966.

The house was unoccupied for twenty-six years, after the death of Jack T. Pierce and was in a serious state of deterioration. The property was purchased from the First Methodist Church on July 25, 1966, by Mr. & Mrs. Emory Elder. They spent approximately two years restoring the structure, and have accomplished one of the finest restorations of a private house in Texas.

In the process of restoration, worn-out materials were refurbished and repaired wherever possible. New materials were introduced only where absolutely necessary, and no alterations were made to the four principal chambers or the front and rear central hall. All improvements such as heating and air conditioning, bathroom facilities, and modern kitchen equipment were confined to secondary spaces in the lower or on-grade floor of the residence.

The house has been furnished with mid-nineteenth-century furniture from the Marshall area. Consequently, this raised cottage provides a good illustration of a late Greek Revival town residence in East Texas in the decade before the Civil War.