Ragsdale-Jackman-Yarbough House
621 W. San Antonio St., San Marcos, TXThe Ragsdale-Jackman-Yarbrough House is the oldest occupied residence in town, and may also be the oldest frame house. Built in 1868, it displays the symmetry still popular from the Greek Revival period, embellished with restrained, early Italianate detail. Its owners have contributed much to local history.
Peter Ragsdale, who had the house built of lumber hauled by oxteam from Indianola, on the Gulf coast, was a veteran of the Texas Revolution. He had sold beef to Sam Houston's army and fought at the battle of San Jacinto. After the war, he established a trading post in the next county and worked as a civil engineer. After his death, Mrs. Ragsdale operated a school for girls and a hospital for female Coronal students in the home. In 1890, she sold the house to William Turner ("Uncle Billy") Jackman, who had made about 13 cattle drives to northern markets over the previous 20 years. Jackman was elected to the sheriff's office in 1892 and served 20 colorful years. A legend that he kept prisoners overnight in the crawlspace under the house was lent credence when the present owners found a trap door on the library floor. During Woodrow Wilson's two terms, Jackman was postmaster in San Marcos. He was known for his well-told Texas history stories and died in 1939. In 1947, Nancy and Merle Yarbrough, highly respected San Marcos educators bought and refurbished the house.
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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.