Peck, Capt. Barton, House

The Peck House is a fine example of early Greek Revival architecture in Texas. It is one of the oldest remaining homes in the city of Goliad, one of the five oldest municipalities in Texas. Although an older portion of the house no longer exists, the central hall plan, symmetrical facade, and stately pedimented portico still remain. The Peck family, which still maintains the house, has been prominent in the history and development of the community.

Captain Barton Peck was a prominent farmer, ranger, and stockman in Goliad County. He was born in Massachusetts but settled in Indiana as a young man. While there in 1836, he raised a company of soldiers to assist Texas in its struggle for independence, but his company arrived after the war was over. Captain Peck remained in Texas and joined the military for eighteen months. He was stationed on the Lavaca River in Jackson County where he met his wife, Frances Menefee. They married in 1838. In 1839, he returned to the north and resided there until 1841. That year he returned to Texas with two thousand head of cattle and drove them to Goliad, which had been advertised as a country unequaled for stock raising. Peck and his wife bought a two-room house in Goliad and lived there while they built the surviving structure. They began building in 1842 but did not complete their home until ten years later. It was connected to the two-room house by a large dining room.

Sue Peck, one of Captain Peck's daughters, married John Gus Patton in 1867. Patton practiced law in Goliad for fifty-five years and served as a county judge for four years. He also served in the Confederate Army at age nineteen and was involved in the Cart War of 1857. The Pattons resided in the Peck family home. After 1932, when the judge died, other family members continued to live there, until 1961. Since that date, the house has been vacant but retains most of its original furnishings. The present owner plans to restore it and return it to residential use.