National Register Listing

Spooner, Thomas Harrison and Mollie, House

207 St. Francis St., Gonzales, TX

The Thomas Harrison and Mollie Spooner House in Gonzales, Texas, exhibits an eclectic mixture of historic styles and plan types that reflects the evolution of Gonzales from a small, pioneer town to an important agricultural and financial force in the regional economy during the last quarter of the nineteenth and early decades of the twentieth centuries. In that half-century, Gonzales experienced its most expansive period of growth and development, rising from a hamlet of simple log and frame "dogtrot" and hall-parlor structures to a small but bustling city boasting a substantial business district surrounded by neighborhoods of large, even ostentatious, houses built in the popular styles of the day. The two and a half-story Thomas Harrison "T. H." and Mollie Spooner House, at the far western edge of the original Townsite of Gonzales, appears to be among the latter - a Victorian-era dwelling displaying both Queen Anne and Classical stylistic references - but it also incorporates two earlier houses within its walls: a one-story, frame dwelling (ca.1872) that may have been a dogtrot or two-room hall-parlor type house built by 1872, and a more refined, classically-inspired center- passage house erected about 1875. The origins of the earliest house are vague but improvements were already on the site when Thomas H. Spooner, a young Gonzales attorney, built a house as a gift for his future bride, Mollie Allen in 1875. The new house was attached to the earlier one. Twenty-five years later, Spooner oversaw an elaborate renovation of his ca. 1875 house to its current appearance, a task that represented Spooner's rise to prominence from a young law student to an influential jurist and businessman as Gonzales experienced burgeoning growth and development during that same period. By 1900, Spooner's neighborhood was almost fully developed with newer Queen Anne, Classical Revival and Neo-Classical houses, reflecting both Gonzales' prosperity and national trends in popular architecture. After living in their modest Center Passage house for more than a quarter of a century, the Spooners enlarged and entirely remodeled it to one more in keeping with their neighbors and community status. The resulting design incorporated the existing buildings but appeared as an entirely new house. It has retained this ca. 1905 appearance for nearly 100 years. This is the only house associated with Judge Spooner during his long and successful career in Gonzales where he was elected District Attorney and District Judge for the 25th Judicial District, comprised of five counties including Gonzales County.

Although it incorporates a variety of architectural trends, the Spooner House retains its ca. 1905 appearance and integrity to an outstanding, almost pristine, degree. It is well-crafted and retains significant decorative details from its various building campaigns: from the simple configuration of the original frame house and porch to the symmetrical appearance of a modest but refined center-passage house with its original door, sidelights, and remaining pedimented windows, to the impressive late-Victorian and Classical stylistic elements. It is remarkable that so many architectural features remain intact as the house lay vacant for many years before its recent renovation. In 1996, Gonzales attorney Noel Reese and his wife Kerry, purchased the deteriorated but still imposing house and began restoring it to its ca. 1905 condition. The T. H. Spooner House is recognized as a local landmark in Gonzales and is featured in promotional brochures and historic tours for its architecture.

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 2003.