Broyles, William and Caroline, House

The William and Caroline Broyles house is one of the most important houses in Palestine, Texas, a community that enjoyed vigorous growth in the Victorian period. The house is, indeed, one of the outstanding Victorian homes in East Texas. William Broyles was a prosperous East Texas lumberman, who played an important role in the economic development of Palestine. His house was designed and built by Luther McKlemurry, a local architect/builder, in 1894. It is significant as an architecturally successful example of late 19th-century eclecticism.

The William and Caroline Broyles house is one of the most important houses in Palestine, Texas, a community that enjoyed vigorous growth in the Victorian period. The house is, indeed, one of the outstanding Victorian homes in East Texas. William Broyles was a prosperous East Texas lumberman, who played an important role in the economic development of Palestine. His house was designed and built by Luther McKlemurry, a local architect/builder, in 1894. It is significant as an architecturally successful example of late 19th-century eclecticism. William McBurney Broyles was born in 1849 in Huntsville, Alabama, and was raised there and in Asheville, North Carolina. Broyles came to Texas after the Civil War, working in Palestine as a carpenter. He soon opened a mercantile store near the courthouse, then the center of town. After the arrival of the railroad in 1872, he opened a new store closer to the train depot, in what became known as "new town." As Palestine prospered so did William Broyles. He entered the lumber business in 1878, and eventually came to own a lumber yard, a saw mill, and a large cabinet shop. Broyles was also active in real estate, developing three new additions to the town, including the Broyles Addition, where this house was built. He also was an executive of the Palestine Salt Company, later acquired by Morton Salt, and was vice president of the city's Guaranty State Bank, founded by Texas Governor Thomas M. Campbell. In 1879 William married Caroline Scott who, with her mother, had recently left Canada to settle in Palestine. William and Caroline raised seven children in their years together. A family tradition relates that Broyles built the house as a gift to his wife, and that it was completed in time to surprise her after a summer visit to Asheville, North Carolina. William Broyles died in the house in 1925. His son, Gordon, inherited both the family business and the house. Gordon lived in the house until his death in 1987, leaving his own mark on it in ways as varied as the sink and counter for cleaning fish and game, and the stained glass window in the stair hall. The Broyles House was built on an entire block in the Broyles Addition, which Broyles had laid out in 1882 in anticipation of continued residential development south of "new town" and the railroad tracks. The architect and builder of the house was Luther McKlemurry, a native of Louisiana who worked in New Mexico before coming to Palestine. He also built several other Victorian houses in Palestine, including the John Herne House (1896), as well as its first synagogue (1900) on Magnolia Street, just south of "new town." The design is an excellent example of synthetic eclecticism, combining elements of the Italianate, Second Empire, Eastlake, and Queen Anne into an original creation that can only be characterized under the broad term "Victorian." The round arched drip moldings, quoins, and other rustication are of an Italianate character, while the mansard dome of the small tower certainly qualifies as Second Empire, and the shingles in the gables and under the balconies represent the American version of Queen Anne. The predominant stylistic influence is Eastlake, exemplified by the profusion of turned posts, spindles, semi-circular arches, ovals and brackets. Many of the features which make the house so impressive were manufactured in Palestine by Broyles' companies. His lumber business took advantage of the tremendous natural resources of the forests of East Texas, which provided lumber for the region as well as for this house. Moreover, the Broyles mill supplied the profusion of mill work which gives the house much of its character. The use of wood as the principal material gives the house a distinctively American appearance: European design elements which might have originally been done in brick or stone are transformed into an original entity. The significance of the Broyles house rests on several factors. The siting of the house on an entire city block gives it an estate-like ambiance, unusual amongst large old residences in this area of East Texas. This estate-like effect is enhanced by the size of the house, which is a full two stories plus a large attic space. The architectural style and design manifest grace, exuberance, and originality. With some minor changes, the house-is still in its original form, retains its original furniture, and is owned by the original family, making it one of the outstanding properties of its kind in the region.