Hochwald House

The Hochwald House was completed in 1895 after two years of painstaking work. Located at 211 West Grand Avenue in Marshall, Texas, it is one of the major remaining structures that can be linked to the period of Jewish preeminence. Isaac Hochwald, an influential member of the city's burgeoning merchant class, and one of the primary organizers of the Moses Montefiore Synagogue, built the now much-altered residence. The house presently features a monumentally proportioned, two-storied semicircular porch in the conventional Colonial Revival style popular regionally during the early 1900s. However, its overall massing, occasional exposed timbering, and the bold relief of the roofline and ribbed chimneys suggest that the unknown architect of the Hochwald House also had some knowledge of the Queen Anne styling.

Texas' merchantile phase began to emerge during the late 19th century. The merchant class of Marshall, Texas, was constituted during the aftermath of Reconstruction, and it was the lure of this expanding post-war economy that attracted Lionel Kahn (d. 1896) to Texas around 1870. Khan was a French Jew from Lohr, Lorraine. In 1887 he brought a twelve-year-old boy named Isaac Hochwald (1865-1956), adopted from a New Orleans orphanage, to live with him in Marshall. There Lionel Kahn and his brother E. Kahn (d. 1909) opened the Great Railway Supply Store, a retail outlet modeled after the company stores that flourished during the plantation era. These businesses advanced credit to sharecroppers at the beginning of the season, supplied them during the year, and settled with them after the harvest had been gathered. The Great Railway Supply Store, which was a profitable venture, extended credit to employees of the Texas and Pacific Railroad, sold them merchandise, lent them money, and cashed their payroll checks.

The Kahn brothers and Hochwald enjoyed phenomenal success in Marshall. When the Kahns died, Hochwald became the sole owner of the largest merchantile establishment in the northeastern part of the state. He built a home commensurate with his wealth and stature in 1894-1895. The two-story, clapboard Queen Anne mansion was an extraordinarily large and ornate house for Marshall and was touted by local residents as one of the most splendid.
As a prominent member of the business community, Hochwald participated in many civic activities. He was a trustee of the local school system, organizer and first president of the Marshall Rotary Club, organizer, and president of the East Texas Baseball League (Hochwald was the owner of the Marshall team), and was a member of many fraternal groups. Hochwald was also an active member of the local Jewish community and devoted much of his time to the establishment of the Moses Montefiore Synagogue, and he served the congregation as its president for more than 20 years.

While the house has undergone major changes that have substantially altered its appearance, all of these changes were made more than 60 years ago, and have become an integral part of the historic fabric. In fact, the Hochwald House provides a rare and unusual opportunity to dissect and analyze the superposition of styles used in its construction and subsequent alteration.

In the absence of historical photographs or dated drawings of the structure, changes recorded on the Sanborn Insurance Company maps for Marshall from 1899 to 1931 are described in section seven in some detail. More than anything else, the Hochwald House is an amalgamation of building styles, namely the Colonial Revival and Queen Anne, and the owner's taste. Isaac Hochwald will be remembered as the powerful local merchant who owned the great Railroad Supply Store for many years, and who was instrumental in the building of the Moses Montefiore temple. He will also be remembered for his home, a legacy from a period of marked ostentation.