Caldwell House

The house at 619 Maury is the only well-preserved example remaining in San Marcos of the typical one-story, L-shaped Victorian house. Its porch trim is among the most delicate and attractive in town.J.W. McBride sold the hillside to J. Pierce and Fannie Caldwell in 1893, the year the house was built. Caldwell was a local contractor, and evidently lavished great care on his home, because the details are outstanding. Although the house form is moderate, the jigsawn porch brackets, small ell porch, and peaked hood molds create an articulated facade.Many structures of architectural merit are undistinguished for their history, and the Caldwell House is one of these.

Among the names of the many people who owned the house prior to 1945 are Herndon, Heard, Driskill, Leinweber, Summy, McNeill, Haymes, Ramsay, and Smith. Little is known of their lives, as they relate to this property, but one story stands out. J. Alex Driskill and his wife bought the house in 1901. Driskill was an elder in the Church of Christ, where musical instruments were forbidden. When a small organ was installed, .Driskill's mother, who lived with her son and daughter-in-law at 619 Maury, took a hatchet to the innocent instrument, saying "If there's going to be any noise made around here, Alex and I will make it." This incident had occurred in 1892 or 1893. The dispute caused a faction under J.L. Green's leadership to break off and form First Christian Church.

Less colorful, but more constructive, was the contribution of a veterinarian, J.A. Riley, who rented the house in the teens. The present owner's grandfather, A.C. Feltner, started the town's first soft-drink bottling plant in 1897.