Details for Dr. E. L. and Nannie Lewis Walker House

Historical Marker — Atlas Number 5183013281

Data

Marker Number 13281
Atlas Number 5183013281
Marker Title Dr. E. L. and Nannie Lewis Walker House
Index Entry Walker, Dr. E. L. and Nannie Lewis, House
Address 214 E Commerce
City Gladewater
County Gregg
UTM Zone 15
UTM Easting 317486
UTM Northing 3601217
Subject Codes Neoclassical (architectural style); houses, residential buildings
Marker Year 2004
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Yes
Marker Location 214 E Commerce
Private Property No
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
Marker Text Edgar Lathgro Walker of Tennessee wed Nannie E. Lewis, a native of Kentucky, in 1891. The couple later brought their two young daughters, Lena and Alma, to Gladewater to visit E.L.'s brother, William, and they decided to stay. Their third daughter, Bessie, was born in Gladewater in 1898. E.L., a graduate of the Cincinnati School of Medicine, opened a medical practice and drugstore. He purchased this site from W.S. and Sara Austin on October 23, 1895, and he and Nannie completed their new home sometime before 1910. Their property eventually extended all the way to the Sabine River and included several barns, a cookhouse, oil wells and derricks, and oil storage tanks. The Walker House, with its main body constructed of concrete blocks, is Neoclassical in design, with a symmetrical façade, pronounced two-story portico, Ionic columns, five-bay front and pedimented dormer window. The three-story structure also has two concrete basements. Initially intended for use as an infirmary, the third floor space served as an attic with access to a rooftop widow's walk. Original features included ten fireplaces, a two-floor elevator and fifteen rooms. A concrete balustrade, too heavy for use on the second-floor porch, became a unique fence. Changes over the years included additional rooms and the removal of the elevator, donated to a World War II scrap metal drive. Following the deaths of her parents, Bessie (Walker) and husband Otto Staerker lived in the house, which stayed in the family until 1969. Subsequent owners have ensured the house remains a landmark, a link to the Walker family and early Gladewater. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004

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