Barker House

Marker installed: 1998

E. B. and Mary Harvey Barker bought this house of locally quarried limestone in May 1873. The Barkers, who resided on a farm at Rice's Crossing (20 mi. E), lived here during the winter season so that their eight children could attend school in Round Rock. Their son, Dudley, became a noted Texas Ranger; he returned to the house in 1940 to etch his birth date on an interior wall. As an intact example of a vernacular center-passage house, the dwelling is a vivid reminder of pioneer architecture.

Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998.

houses residential buildings

The first oil well in the United States was drilled in Texas in 1859. The discovery of oil transformed the economy of the state and helped to make Texas one of the wealthiest states in the nation.