houses, residential buildings; farms; agriculture, general
Marker Year
2010
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Yes
Marker Location
Grapevine, 805 N. Main St.
Private Property
No
Marker Condition
In Situ
Marker Size
27" x 42"
Marker Text
DR. WILLIAM E. DORRIS (1832-1905) BROUGHT HIS FAMILY TO GRAPEVINE IN JANUARY 1871 AFTER A THREE-MONTH TRIP FROM STARKVILLE, MISSISSIPPI. DORRIS WAS A CAPTAIN IN J. B. DUNN’S COMPANY (MISSISSIPPI RANGERS) IN THE CIVIL WAR AND HIS FIRST WIFE, ELIZABETH (HARMON), DIED DURING THE WAR. ARRIVING HERE WITH HIS SECOND WIFE, MIRANDA (FERGUSON) AND CHILDREN, DORRIS PURCHASED A 37-ACRE FARM FROM A. B. COBLE, JUST NORTH OF ARCHIBALD F. LEONARD’S STORE ESTABLISHED IN 1849. THE FARM WAS IDEALLY LOCATED NEAR MOREHEAD BRANCH AND COBLE BRANCH, WHERE GOOD WATER WAS ABUNDANT. DR. DORRIS WAS A MEMBER OF THE LOCAL MASONIC LODGE AND THE BAPTIST CHURCH, AND SERVED TWO YEARS AS A GRAPEVINE SCHOOL BOARD TRUSTEE. HIS SON THOMAS BENTON DORRIS CONTINUED THE FAMILY MEDICAL TRADITION IN GRAPEVINE FOR MORE THAN THIRTY YEARS, ALSO SERVING AS A LOCAL SURGEON FOR THE RAILROAD AND TEACHING A RED CROSS NURSING CLASS DURING WORLD WAR I. DR. WILLIAM E. DORRIS MOVED TO ROANOKE (DENTON CO.) IN 1889, AND SEVERAL PROMINENT GRAPEVINE FAMILIES OWNED THIS FARMSTEAD UNTIL JOHN WORD AND BESSIE (BUSHONG) BROCK BOUGHT THE PROPERTY IN 1905. JOHN WORD BROCK WAS A FARMER AND ALSO A MAIL CARRIER FOR TEN YEARS BY HORSE AND BUGGY. THE BROCKS RAISED TWELVE CHILDREN IN THIS HOUSE, WHICH STAYED IN THE FAMILY FOR 85 YEARS. THE L-PLAN FARMHOUSE FEATURES A CROSS GABLE ROOF AND SHED ROOF PORCH. ITS FOLK VICTORIAN STYLING INCLUDES NARROW CLAPBOARD SIDING, TWO-OVER-TWO WOOD WINDOWS, TURNED SPINDLE PORCH SUPPORTS, DOORWAYS AND WINDOW SURROUNDS WITH FLUTED MOLDINGS AND MEDALLIONS, BEADBOARD WALLS AND TALL BASEBOARDS. THE ORIGINAL HOUSE WAS ONE ROOM DEEP; THE BROCKS EXPANDED THE HOUSE WITH A REAR ADDITION IN THE 1920s.
