Wright-Henderson-Duncan House

The Wright-Henderson-Duncan house was built by Hood County Sheriff A. J. Wright, and in later years was a home for two other Hood County Sheriffs, J. F. Henderson and C. M. Duncan. The original structure, a mid-19th century stone house with a dog-trot plan was a frontier homestead for Wright. During the tenure of the Henderson family, the house developed into an important example in Granbury of the transitional style between Greek Rev. and Victorian architecture; the Symmetrical Victorian.

Early history and the exact date for construction of the house are obscured by the lack of records for the site which was homesteaded by A. J. Wright. Settlers largely from Missouri squatted on the land that would later become Granbury and environs and eventually purchased their homestead properties from Milam County. A.J. Wright (1819- 1889) was among those settlers from Missouri. Wright was engaged at various times in cotton farming, stock raising, cattle drives, and the mercantile business. At the outbreak of the Civil War Wright returned to Missouri and served as a captain in the Confederate Army. Wright survived the war and returned to this area of Texas. When Hood County was organized in 1866, Wright was elected sheriff. However, state authorities under the Military Government of Reconstruction would not permit Wright, a former Confederate officer, to serve in the office. In 1867, Wright's first wife Elizabeth Nutt Wright died. He married again in 1871 to Miss Margaret Bond and moved to Granbury where he was engaged in the mercantile business. It was at this time that Wright hired local builder William Trawick to construct a stone house on the outskirts of town. From 1873 to 1876 Wright did serve as Hood County Sheriff. He retired and moved to Coleman County sometime before he died in 1889.
However, eight years prior he sold his improvements and interests in the Milam County property that he had homesteaded, to J. F. Henderson in October of that year. Henderson purchased the deed to the property from Milam County in November of 1881. He and his wife, Mary, and five children resided in the house until 1910. Henderson (approx. 1846-1933) was a native of Missouri who had visited Granbury in May of 1866 and moved there permanently in the Spring of 1872. Henderson served as Hood County deputy-sheriff and jailor before becoming sheriff from 1898-1900.

In 1910, Henderson lost the property, and legal judgments began a long line of short-term ownerships. The longest-term owners to date have been Charles M. and Emma Duncan. Duncan (1879-1957) was a cattleman and rancher who served as sheriff of Hood County from 1936-1940. Late in 1928, Duncan purchased the Wright-Henderson property and some fifty acres. They held the property for three years, sold it in 1931, and repurchased the property in 1940. When Mrs. Duncan died in 1969 the house was inherited by their daughter, Mrs. Martha Anna Duncan Ingerson. Dr. and Mrs. Ingerson have restored the house and will use it as a residence.