Texas' First Home Demonstration Agent
Edna W. Trigg, first home demonstration agent in Texas.
Photo courtesy of and permission received from Cushing Memorial Library and Archives,
Texas A&M University.
Copyright: If this photo is used in a publication or website, proper citation is required. All materials
must be credited as follows: Cushing Memorial Library and Archives, Texas A&M University. It is the user’s
responsibility to secure permission from the copyright holders for publication of any materials. Permission
must be obtained in writing prior to publication. Please contact the Cushing Memorial Library for further
information. Phone: 979-845-1951, Fax: 979-845-1441, Web: library.tamu.edu/Cushing, Email: cushing-
library@tamu.edu.
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2015-03-09
Donna Weeden
dgweeden(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
423 CR 3355
Paradise, TX 76073
94zero-859-three69one
Comments : We drove through Cameron this weekend and took a picture of an old building located at 326 N
Central Ave. Can you tell me the history of this building? It appears to be vacant. Thank you, Donna
Weeden.
*****
2015-02-05 - standard reply / email forwarded to MCHC members.
*****
2015-03-11
Ms. Weeden,
I visited the Hubert home (312 N. Central) yesterday morning. I took the attached photos, while waiting for
the Cameron Public Library to open. I was disappointed in ourlack of reference material related to this
stately home in the library. I did find three books showing prominent homes, Churches and businesses, but
obviously, the Hubert home failed to make the cut. Numerous others listed were more conservative than this
home in this writer's humble opinion.
I then visited the Milam County Historical Museum in Cameron. Charles King, the Museum Director, was
familiar with the home, but was able to only relay the past +/- 50 years of its life. Charles stated that
he has visited the home and relayed some items of interest that came to mind. When Hwy 190/36 was widened
it took a considerable amount of the north side yard which diminished the "balance" of the house on the
lot. He stated that the home has a magnificent, large dining room with a beautiful coffered ceiling. He
said that Mr. Currie prefers a room that is in what Charles called, the attic. Mr. Currie managed two
different businesses out of the home, one being 'Farm to Market Internet'. The large antenna on the roof of
the home may or may not be attributed to that venture.
The current owners are Vickie and Wallace Currie. Wallace lives in Dallas and usually visits every two to
three weeks per Charles. I placed a note and my Commission business card on the door asking if he would be
kind enough to give me a call the next time that he is in town.
A mature fellow Genealogical Society member, Charles Hubert, may be related to the Huberts who previously
owned this home. I left word that I would like to talk with him about the house.
The Milam County Appraisal District's digitized property records are only searchable on-line back to 1989.
Prior to that, earlier deed record searches requires a visit (I didn't have time yesterday) to the M/C
County Clerk's Office. If I'm unable to turn up any more historical information on the home, I at least
would be able to research back to approximately the time that it was built.
We do have Micro-tapes of the local Cameron Herald newspaper. Unfortunately, they have not been transferred
to a digital format which would be searchable. I would like to think that a newspaper reporter would have
taken a photo of this home at one time.
Charles also relayed that Mrs. Hubert ran a children's nursery business out of the home ca. 1950's-60's.
She also instructed piano lessons - Jane Monroe, a fellow Milam County Historical Museum Board member,
stated she was one of her students. I hope to relay more early historical information to you shortly.
Respectfully, Jack Brooks
bjohnr2010(AT)hotmail(DOT)com
*****
2015-03-11
Wow! That is a lot of info! Thank you for spending so much time investigating this lovely old home. It
appears to be have be built prior to 1900, though...don't you think? Great pics, too!
Donna Weeden
*****
2015-03-12
I agree with you, the home probably dates anywhere from the late 1890's to the teens. For brevity, I failed
to relay that I had already searched the Sanborn Maps for it. I have found them to be one of the best
resources for dating early urban, moderately populated, communities. Cameron's Sanborn's date from 1885 to
the 1930's. You are probably very well aware of the, but if not, here is my reference source;
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/sanborn/texas.htmlThe Hubert home is located in the middle of attachment #1.
Something that I also learned, was that most(not a few) of the streets in downtown Cameron were renamed
once if not twice between 1906 and 1931. Quite unusual, and I don't have a clue for the reasoning. I was
only able to chase the home to the 1920 map. Prior to that, the earlier maps fell short in radius by about
1/2 block in its illustration. Wouldn't you know. That's why it is now necessary to search the property
records for dating unless another reference source turns up. Another thing that was quite remarkable about
the home was the leaded glass windows. Many had dirty storm windows covering them which hindered the
appreciation of the same. I learned that Charles Hubert's son is gravely ill after heart surgery. I'll give
this a little time before I approach him again, for obvious reasons. I'm glad that you appreciate my
footwork, but I benefit, just as much as yourself, by learning about the rich history of this County. I
thank you for helping educate me as well.
Respectfully, Jack Brooks bjohnr2010(AT)hotmail(DOT)com
*****
2015-03-12
Thank you so much for the link. No, I was not aware, but I have book marked it as it will come in handy in
the future! Keep me posted....research is great fun, isn't it!
Donna Weeden
*****
Ms. Weeden,
I researched the ownership of the "Hubert" home, last Friday, at the Milam County, County Clerks Office. A
general overview of public records is as follows;
Year Grantor $$$ Grantee
1890 Ms. A. B. Meagher 1800 John B. McLane
1901 John B. McLane 1750 Mary O. Lawrence
1946 W,H. Lawrence 100 J.F. Guggolz
1952 Emma Guggolz 10 Selma Barmore
1963 W.C. Barmore 10 Robert J. Woodum
1970 Robert J Woodum 10 Edith Hubert (single)
1998 1st Nat Bank 00 Vickie/Wallace Currie Trustee (Successor Trust 1989)
2003 Vickie/Wallace Currie 100 Vickie/Wallace Currie (ownership) (Trustees of Currie trust)
I am not a lawyer, so this information is being relayed, as best as possible, by a layman.
If you'll note the above, numerous were probate upon death and inheritance. I was unable to determine when
the home was built because the transfer price did not reflect the true real value of an improved lot with a
home. That would be readily determined by the property tax records. Per the Milam County Appraisers office,
those earlier tax records (some in excess of 100 yrs. old) are no longer available. If I were to speculate,
I would say that it was constructed between 1890 and 1901 while under the ownership of John B. McLane. The
McLane families were very prominent citizens and business men of Cameron and generally of considerable
means. Here is an example of one of their family's descendants;
I'll relay additional information after future research.
Respectfully, Jack Brooks
Milam County Historical Commission
Milam County, Texas
Milam County, Texas
Requests for Info
Received via Website
Received via Website
2015-03-01
Becky Trammell
lotrvt(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Burkburnett, TX 76354
nine40-23two-79three9
I write a gardening article for the Wichita Falls Times and Record news and am working on an article about Edna Westbrook Trigg. Would it be possible for you to send me a picture of her historical marker that I could use in the newspaper?
********
2015-03-01
Becky, I have attached 2 different photos of the marker and a photo of Edna Westbrook Trigg. If you need others just let us know what you need and we should be able to get them for you.
Thanks
Jerry Caywood
MCHC Website Administrator
jcaywood(AT)austin(DOT)rr(DOT)com
*****
2015-03-02
Thanks for the reply and the pictures. If the article is published by the Wichita Falls Times Record News, I will send you a link. I am a member of our local historical commission and enjoyed reading about Mrs. Trigg.
Becky Trammell
Becky Trammell
lotrvt(AT)gmail(DOT)com
Burkburnett, TX 76354
nine40-23two-79three9
I write a gardening article for the Wichita Falls Times and Record news and am working on an article about Edna Westbrook Trigg. Would it be possible for you to send me a picture of her historical marker that I could use in the newspaper?
********
2015-03-01
Becky, I have attached 2 different photos of the marker and a photo of Edna Westbrook Trigg. If you need others just let us know what you need and we should be able to get them for you.
Thanks
Jerry Caywood
MCHC Website Administrator
jcaywood(AT)austin(DOT)rr(DOT)com
*****
2015-03-02
Thanks for the reply and the pictures. If the article is published by the Wichita Falls Times Record News, I will send you a link. I am a member of our local historical commission and enjoyed reading about Mrs. Trigg.
Becky Trammell
Hubert Home photos courtesy of Jack Brooks
*****
2015-04-04
Ms. Weeden,
I received a call from Mr. Wallace( Ted) Currie yesterday. If you'll recall, he's the gentleman who owns the home, resides in Dallas and visits Cameron intermittently. He returned, saw the note that I had left on the door, and was kind enough to call me.
My first question of him was "who built the house"?. He stated that he thought that a Mr. Lawrence did but had no documentation for the same. I told him that I had suspected that John B McLane built the home since he owned a lumber yard, was an luxury home builder (Robert McLane's Mansion on 2nd St) and was of financial means. He said that that may very well be.
He also mentioned that when some carpentry repair work was in progress, that square nails were used to build the home. See http://www.uvm.edu/histpres/203/nails.html.
Since J. McLane purchased the property 1 August, 1896 and sold it to Mary Lawrence on 1 November 1901, its construction with square nails would apply with either owner (see above reference). My money's on John McLane, but with the property tax records being no longer available, the true builder may just be lost to time.
He discussed the detailed woodwork and trim inside and stated that it is in much better condition than the exterior. He said that he someday hopes to have the financial means to restore the exterior to more glorious days.
He was also kind enough to offer to allow me to visit the home whenever he's in town. Should that materialize in the future, I'll be sure to take photo's and forward them to you.
He mentioned that all the siding on the home is cypress. Also that the front porch originally wrapped around the home to the west side but was later enclosed as seen today.
Unless I'm able to gain access in the future, I believe that this is the "end of the trail" for your inquiry. I've had fun researching it and thank you for that opportunity.
Respectfully, Jack Brooks
.
2015-04-04
Ms. Weeden,
I received a call from Mr. Wallace( Ted) Currie yesterday. If you'll recall, he's the gentleman who owns the home, resides in Dallas and visits Cameron intermittently. He returned, saw the note that I had left on the door, and was kind enough to call me.
My first question of him was "who built the house"?. He stated that he thought that a Mr. Lawrence did but had no documentation for the same. I told him that I had suspected that John B McLane built the home since he owned a lumber yard, was an luxury home builder (Robert McLane's Mansion on 2nd St) and was of financial means. He said that that may very well be.
He also mentioned that when some carpentry repair work was in progress, that square nails were used to build the home. See http://www.uvm.edu/histpres/203/nails.html.
Since J. McLane purchased the property 1 August, 1896 and sold it to Mary Lawrence on 1 November 1901, its construction with square nails would apply with either owner (see above reference). My money's on John McLane, but with the property tax records being no longer available, the true builder may just be lost to time.
He discussed the detailed woodwork and trim inside and stated that it is in much better condition than the exterior. He said that he someday hopes to have the financial means to restore the exterior to more glorious days.
He was also kind enough to offer to allow me to visit the home whenever he's in town. Should that materialize in the future, I'll be sure to take photo's and forward them to you.
He mentioned that all the siding on the home is cypress. Also that the front porch originally wrapped around the home to the west side but was later enclosed as seen today.
Unless I'm able to gain access in the future, I believe that this is the "end of the trail" for your inquiry. I've had fun researching it and thank you for that opportunity.
Respectfully, Jack Brooks
.
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