Barber House

Of many beautiful views in San Marcos, that from the Barber House may be the loveliest. The setting on the wooded Balcones Fault bluff is perfect for the asymmetrical, two-story, white, frame Victorian house. Dominating the front, southeast facade is a double gallery extending the entire length and around the eastern section that surrounds a five-sided ell bay. The flat part of the porch is composed of three bays. Porch rails on both levels are jigsawn panels. The under-eave trim is simple little sticks in a double row on the second floor, in a single row on the first. Chamfered posts support the porch and sport sawn brackets. The wooden steps and porch floor remain intact.

To the northeast, the gallery becomes a one-story inset porch and a filled-in, second-story sleeping porch. This section seems to be of a later date. A stair also with a sawn rail goes to the second-floor porch from here. Two other sections, previously one-story, received a second story from the present owner. However, these are located toward the rear and are not detracting. The additions have multi-paned casements, often with six-over-six lights, while elsewhere the windows have the original two-over-two lights.

Basically the roof is a gable augmented with cross gables and a shed roof over the porch. Because of the setting, the whitish urethane roof cannot be seen easily.

There are six bedrooms and attendant bathrooms and halls upstairs. Downstairs there is a living room, entrance hall, dining room, breakfast room, kitchen, sewing room, bathroom, and family room. The breakfast room contains a rack that was once used for cooling milk when the house was a rural homestead. Interior changes are mainly superficial. An elaborate stair graces the entrance hall, but is not original.

On the grounds is an old swimming pool built by Barber, which measures about 35 ft. by 65 ft. It is presently in poor repair, but adds markedly to the property's significance. The pool, pump-house, a garage, and caretaker's cottage of early but unspecified date, also add to the semi-rural scene. In 1914 a low wall was built across the lot's front. The granite used is from the same source that provided stone for the State Capitol.

The Will Barber House is a fine example of the kind of frame Victorian residence chosen by prominent Texans near the turn of the century. A very large rounded porch embellished with all the best of the millworker's art is the most notable feature. Will Barber, often called "Judge" Barber, was memorialized as one of the leading civil and criminal attorneys in southwest Texas.

L.H. and Alice Browne built the house between 1895 and 1901, then they sold it to Will G. Barber. Barber came to San Marcos when his father, Henry, was elected sheriff of Hays County in 1880. He went to Austin for schooling and graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 1889. Upon returning, he was elected Hays County Attorney, and thereby began a 45-year law career. Barber served for many years on the State Board of Legal Examiners, and after founding the State Bank and Trust in 1905 with J.M. Cape, as president of that institution for 30 years. He was a trustee of Southwest Texas Normal School. Although not an elected judge, he was often appointed special judge in appellate court trials.

Barber was also involved in agriculture, as owner-operator of 5,000 acres of farmland and part owner of gins in Buda and Kyle.

When Barber bought the house, the neighborhood was still rural. To store water for livestock and plants, he dug a deep pool further up the hill, smoothed its bottom and sides with concrete, and enjoyed the multipurpose creation as a swimming pool also. It is the oldest swimming pool in San Marcos and may predate those in Austin.

Upon Barber's death in 1935, the house remained in the possession of his family until 1944.