Details for James Newton and Eva Tabor Rayzor House
Historical Marker —
Atlas Number 5507017263
Data
Marker Number
17263
Atlas Number
5507017263
Marker Title
James Newton and Eva Tabor Rayzor House
Index Entry
Rayzor, James Newton and Eva Tabor, House
Address
1003 W. Oak Street
City
Denton
County
Denton
UTM Zone
14
UTM Easting
673097
UTM Northing
3676721
Subject Codes
houses, residential buildings; women
Marker Year
2012
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Yes
Marker Location
at south side of West Oak Street, facng north; 150 feet east of intersection of West Oak and Fulton Streets; located west of Carroll Blvd. in Oak-Hickory Historic District in Denton.
Private Property
No
Marker Condition
In Situ
Marker Size
27" x 42" without post
Marker Text
JAMES NEWTON RAYZOR WAS BORN DECEMBER 10, 1858 IN LOCKPORT, KENTUCKY. HE IMMIGRATED TO TEXAS IN THE FALL OF 1866 WITH HIS FAMILY AND SETTLED IN COLLIN COUNTY. IN 1871, THE FAMILY MOVED TO COOKE COUNTY WHERE RAYZOR LATER TAUGHT SCHOOL AT PRAIRIE GROVE AND AT PILOT POINT AND MUSTANG COMMUNITY IN DENTON COUNTY. HE MOVED TO DENTON IN 1882 AND MARRIED EVA TABOR, WHO WAS BORN MAY 18, 1864 IN PILOT POINT. RAYZOR WAS INVOLVED IN MANY BUSINESS VENTURES INCLUDING THE ALLIANCE MILL (NOW MORRISON MILLING CO.), ALLIANCE ICE COMPANY AND RAYZOR ICE COMPANY. HE WAS ACTIVE IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE MASONIC LODGE, SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE DENTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WAS A MEMBER OF THE JOHN B. DENTON COLLEGE COMMITTEE THAT FOUNDED THE SCHOOL IN 1901 AND HELPED ESTABLISH THE STATE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (NOW TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY). RAYZOR SERVED AS A DEACON AT THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH FOR 44 YEARS AND ALSO AUTHORED SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT RELIGION, HISTORY AND HIS 1923 TRAVELS TO EUROPE AND THE HOLY LAND. JAMES AND EVA PURCHASED THE PROPERTY IN 1906 AND COMPLETED THE HOME IN 1909 WITH CONTRACTOR M.T. GOODWIN. THIS PRAIRIE STYLE HOME FEATURES HORIZONTAL LINES, EXAGGERATED OVERHANGING EAVES AND A HIPPED ROOF OVER THE SECOND-STORY BEDROOMS. RIBBONS OF WINDOWS LINE THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST SIDE OF THE HOME, AND REPETITIVE MILLWORK AND TONGUE AND GROOVE OAK FLOORS COMPLEMENT THE INTERIOR. THE SCREENED SLEEPING PORCH CONTAINED NUMEROUS BEDS FOR COMPANY AND THE FAMILY DURING HOT SUMMERS. AFTER JAMES AND EVA PASSED AWAY IN 1938 AND 1939, RESPECTIVELY, THEIR DESCENDANTS OWNED THE HOME UNTIL 1978.
