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Robert Noble Mounts (1863-1922) and Nannie Lee (Christal) Mounts (1870-1942) built this home in 1898. The Mounts family came to Denton County in the 1850s from Virginia. In 1857, Robert Mounts’ father, W.H. Mounts, relocated his mercantile business from nearby Alton to the west side of the town square with the move of the Denton County Seat. Robert Mounts’ mother, Mattie (Haynes) Mounts, established the first Sunday School in Denton in 1868, and in 1892, opened the first kindergarten in Denton. This house sits on land once part of the mounts farm where they produced cotton, fruit, and livestock. Robert Mounts was important in furthering the ranching industry in Texas. As a young man, he worked at the 15,000+ acre Gregg Ranch northwest of Denton. After the death of Gregg Ranch owner, William Gregg, in 1889, mounts managed the ranch for many years. In 1899, Robert and Nannie Mounts moved to Hereford, Texas, where he owned a vast ranch consisting of 84,000+ acres and was a County Commissioner, City Councilman, Bank Director, and Charter School Board Trustee. He was one of the foremost stockmen in the panhandle and helped open Texas cattle markets to the north. This Queen Anne Victorian home features clapboard siding, scrolled ornamentation, and typical Eastlake lathe, gouge, and chisel work. The signature diamond window is a visual focal point. The interior features heart-pine floors and wooden ornamentation. The north wing was an early addition to the house, added to accommodate the office space needed when it was used by the Central Presbyterian Church as a minister’s manse from 1919-1943. |
