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In 1838, Mary Beacham received a headright land grant of one league and one labor (about 4600 acres), including this property, making her first in a line of notable women associated with the site. Following multiple ownership transfers, Eliphas Spencer acquired the land and built a two-room log cabin in Dec. 1845. Eliphas later transferred title to his wife, Catherine, whom he married in 1847. The Spencers raised their only child, Emmeline, in the house. Fort Graham (active 1849-54, six miles NW) afforded some protection for the frontier house. Eliphas died in 1860. Surviving letters between Catherine and distant family speak of economic, health and communication problems, and of scarce and expensive commodities. Colmon Carver, who visited the house in 1860, hauled supplies including salt, coffee and flour for the Confederate government during the Civil War. Carver returned and married Emmeline in 1868. In 1875, the Spencer cabin was incorporated as a kitchen into a larger Victorian-style home. Four years later, the Houston and Texas Central Railroad platted the town of Whitney on land west of the Carver property. Catherine lived with her daughter and son-in-law until her death in 1882. The Carvers owned thousands of acres all across Texas. Colmon Carver died in 1911. Emmeline and her son, Charles, hired John E. Bruyere of Waco to add a second story in 1912, creating a Neoclassical style house with full-height entry porch and lower full-length porch. Emmeline Carver died in 1936. Later owners included former Whitney mayor Fred Basham and his wife, Jennye Mae. After a 1971 tornado destroyed chimneys and 18 windows, the Bashams made repairs and added a small rear addition. The historic homestead includes a carriage house, slave quarters, henhouse, and outhouse, all of frame construction, and a smokehouse/pantry of native limestone. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2011 |
