HomeMy WebLinkAboutHimes HouseHIMES HOUSE
403 Himes Dr.
EULESS, TEXAS
The log cabin within the Himes House at 403 Himes Dr.,
Euless, is probably the oldest surviving structure in the city.
Built about 1888 by Andrew Jackson "Andy" Himes, the cabin is
located on historical Euless land.
The house sits near the center of the James P. Halford (or
Hallford) survey, bounded today by North Main St., West Harwood
Rd., North Industrial Blvd. and West Airport Fwy./Huffman
Dr./West Euless Blvd. Halford, the first owner of the land,
migrated before July 1, 1844, to the Peters Colony, a name
commonly applied to a North Texas land grant created by the
Republic of Texas in 1841 to encourage settlement. A land
certificate was issued to Halford in 1850 while he was living in
Tarrant County, probably on his survey.
By 1867, J. A. Jasper owned the property. That year he sold
250 acres to Mary Ann Whitson Trigg, well-to-do widow of William
H. Trigg. Mary Trigg, with several children and bachelor Elisha
Adam Euless (and perhaps others), migrated to Tarrant County from
Bedford County, Tennessee, in 1867. Mary Ann Trigg, probably
more than any other person, deserves credit as the founder of the
City of Euless; at least, she should be recognized as the "Mother
of Euless." A cotton gin was built near present Huffman Dr. on
the southern part of her property, probably by her son, Daniel C.
"Tuck" Trigg, Jr. (named for his uncle, Daniel C. Trigg, Sr.).
In 1877 a Grange Hall, meeting place of a local unit of a
farmers' organization, the Knights of Husbandry, commonly known
as the Grangers, was built on the eastern edge of her property.
The Grange Hall also served as a community center, a school and a
place of worship for Presbyterian and Methodist churches.
In 1870 Mary Ann's daughter, Judy Ann Trigg, married Adam
Euless, who purchased the gin property in 1879 and the Grange
Hall property in 1881. The community that grew at the site came
to be known as Euless. In 1886 a post office opened at Euless,
although it was misnamed "Enless." Adam Euless was a nephew of
Weldon Wiles Bobo, another native of Bedford County, Tennessee,
and founder of a nearby community that was later known as Bedford
in 1877 when it was given a post office.
Adam and Judy Euless sold 100 acres of their property to
Andy Himes on June 4, 1888 for $2,000. Although neither the gin
nor. the Grange Hall was in the Himes purchase, they were near.
Tarrant County tax rolls for 1888 indicate that E. A. Euless was
the owner of 263 acres of land in the Halford Survey. According
to the 1889 tax rolls, E. A. Euless owned 163 acres and A. J.
Hime (the spelling on the tax rolls) owned 100 acres. The 100
acre tract was valued at $700. Neither deeds nor tax rolls
indicate whether the property had improvements, such as
buildings.
Born in 1847 in Bedford County, Tennessee, Andy Himes had
migrated to Texas after 1870. In Tennessee, he and his family
had been neighbors of the Bobo and Euless families, as well as
the Cannon, Blessing, Green and other families who settled at
Bedford and Euless. Other settlers in the Euless area were the
Fuller, Huffman, Redden, Whitener, Jernigan and Wiser families,
who had lived in Coffee County, Tennessee, near the Bedford
County line.
Andy Himes married Sara Meady Andleton. She was born in
1861 in Tennessee. The date and place of their marriage are not
known, but a child, apparently their first, was born in July,
1884, in Texas. According to one family tradition, Andy first
settled in Denton County, near Justin, when he moved to Texas.
By 1883 he was in Dallas County where he purchased 20 acres of
land on May 31 in the William Romine survey, about 2.5 miles
southeast of Dallas on the east bank of the Trinity River.
According to family tradition, he owned property where the Texas
State Fairgrounds are today. The Romine survey is about one mile
south of the fairgrounds. Again, according to family tradition,
Andy "traded" his Dallas property, ten acres, plus $500, for the
farm in Euless. Indeed, Andy and his wife sold five acres
(according to the deed) of their Dallas property to E. A. Euless
on June 6, 1888, for $2,000. The value of this five acre tract
on the tax rolls was $350. This sale was two days after Andy
purchased the Euless property for $2,000. Three children, Lavoy
(Levoy) V. (1884), Annie E. (1887) and Clarence Edgar (1888)
Himes, were born in Dallas.
When Andy bought the Euless property in 1888, he built the
log room where it stands today, and the family moved there. At
least three more children were born there --George Emmitt (1892),
Cindy Jane (1893), and Rosette (Zetta, Zedie) (1897) Himes.
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The log cabin was typical for the time and place. Euless
was located in the Eastern Cross Timbers, a heavily wooded strip
of sandy land in eastern Tarrant County. Especially prevalent
were large oak trees that furnished excellent logs for house
building and firewood. The house was heated from a fireplace; a
water well was dug in the front yard. To accommodate the growing
family, additional rooms, built of lumber, were added to the log
room. Eventually, even the logs were enclosed with lumber, and
the house finally grew to its present size and appearance. The
fireplace and chimney were removed in the 1920s and replaced by a
smaller chimney for a wood burning stove. This did not take as
much wood and heated far more efficiently. Andy and his family
farmed the sandy land, producing good crops, as did most of their
neighbors. Most farmers grew fruit and vegetables, cotton and
corn, and kept dairy cattle, hogs and chickens. Andy and some
others also kept geese.
Meady Himes died in 1897, and Andy's older sister, Mary
Himes Nichols, soon moved in with the family. In 1912 Emmitt
married Myrtle Elizabeth Nobles who had been born in 1893 in
Coffee County, Tennessee. The newly married couple lived in the
house with his father and his aunt Mary.
Emmitt and Myrtle's first child, Thomas Andrew, was born in
1913, and named for his grandfather. Another son, Raymond Edgar,
was born in 1915.
When Andy died in 1926, Emmitt purchased the property from
his brothers and sisters. Emmitt and Myrtle lived there until
her death in 1966 and his in 1974.
Andrew married Evelyn Whitener in 1941. When Andrew died in
1991, their daughter, Shirley Melson inherited the house and
land.
If the log room was built in 1888, which appears to be the
case, then it would be about 111 years old, and certainly the
oldest structure standing in Euless. It stands very near the
center of Euless, close to the post office, municipal complex and
junior high school. The property itself has historical value,
having been owned by James P. Halford, an original Tarrant County
settler; Mary Ann Whitson Trigg, the real founder of Euless; and
her son-in-law, Elisha Adam Euless, for whom the city is named.
In addition to its historical significance, the entire Himes
House, with the enclosed log room, is an architectural treasure.
It could serve as a case study of architectural style changes,
beginning with the log cabin and continuing through various
additions and remodelings. It might be used as an educational
project, demonstrating 19th century activities such soap making,
candle making and butter churning. Other items of historical
significance, such as farm equipment, a windmill, and a forge,
might be added to the site. It could become a resource for our
community like the Old City Park in Dallas or Log Cabin Village
in Fort Worth. Hence, it is worthy of preservation for its
importance to our history and as a potential economic asset
attracting outside visitors.
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REFERENCES:
Cemeteries of Northeast Tarrant County.
1981, Hurst, Texas.
Dallas County Deeds, 1883, 1886, 1888.
House, Dallas, Texas.
Evelyn D'Arcy Cushman,
Dallas County Court
Dallas County Tax Rolls, 1887. Microfilm, Texas State Library,
Austin, Texas.
Elisha Adam Euless. Weldon G. Cannon, 1995, Euless, Texas.
Himes, Emmitt, to Weldon Cannon. Interviews, Oct. 1, 1962; July
9, 1963; July 17, 1963; Aug. 29, 1972.
Himes, Evelyn Whitener Himes, to Weldon Cannon. Interviews, Aug.
23, 1996; Jan. 18, 1999; March 29, 1999.
Himes Family History Work Sheets. Edna Marie Himes Newman, 1994,
Arlington, Texas.
Himes Home Place. Evelyn Whitener Himes, 1997, Euless, Texas.
Tarrant County Deeds, 1879, 1881, 1888. Tarrant County Court
House, Fort Worth, Texas.
Tarrant County Tax Rolls, 1888, 1889. Microfilm, Texas State
Library, Austin, Texas.
Texas Loq Buildings: A Folk Architecture. Terry G. 'Jordan,
1978, Austin, Texas.
U. S. Census, Bedford County, Tennessee, 1860, 1870. Microfilm,
Fort Worth Public Library, Fort Worth, Texas.
U. S. Census, Tarrant County, Texas, 1900, 1910,-1920.-
Microfilm, Fort Worth Public Library, Fort Worth, Texas.
by
Weldon G. Cannon
April 1999
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