A Brief History of Millard's
Crossing
Millard's Crossing was begun in 1968 when Mrs. Albert Thomas decided to retire to Nacogdoches after a busy life of politics and antique collecting--and she needed a place to put her "stuff." She also was keenly interested in preserving some of the old family homes and other East Texas structures as so many of them were being rapidly lost and no one else was doing anything about it. Two of her friends and mentors who were actively engaged in historic preservation were Ima Hogg, and Faith Bybee who produced "Henkle Square" in Round Top, Texas.
Originally, Mrs. Thomas started out with 12 acres of pasture land that she had inherited but eventually added the property to the south resulting in a 37-acre complex with 17 structures. Everything on the property was moved to it from somewhere within Nacogdoches county with the exception of a home that she acquired with the purchase of the neighboring property. She called her project "Millard's Crossing" because the railroad line crosses the northwest corner of the property. Today, Millard's Crossing serves as a as a museum complex where visitors can enjoy touring a unique collection of structures which house a diverse collection of antiques. It also serves as an educational facility for school children and a rental facility for weddings, family reunions, showers, tea parties and numerous other special events.
Millard's Crossing
Structures
1. Burrows House (1867-74): Originally located about 1/2 mile south of Millard's Crossing where Loop 224 and Medical Center Hospital now stand. This style of house is so typical of East Texas. it is often referred to as "the East Texas House." Most observers assume that this house was once a "Dog Trot" house since it has a long, enclosed entryway. However, this house originally consisted of two rooms with a single fireplace. The front two rooms were added years later to provide a separate parlor entrance which was very important to women of this period.
2. Watkin's Log House (1830's,): This house was built by a great-great uncle of Mrs. Thomas on her mother's side of the family. The Watkins Settlement was approximately 10 miles NW of Nacogdoches near the MahI Community. This house is known as a "square log" house because the logs were squared off with a broad axe and an ad,. so thex' could be fitted and chinked more tightly. Later the logs were covered over with milled timber in an effort to "modernize" but Mrs. Thomas had them removed to expose the original logs. A modern kitchen and bathroom were added for her grandchildren who used to stay in the house when they caine to visit.
3. Mrs. Thomas' House: Her collection started with this structure. It is put together from two homes in Nacogdoches. Not a historic structure by any means, but elegant. hcr home has was old french doors from a very old home in Shreveport. LA., and windows from the Ross Sterling home in Houston. The furniture inside is decidedly Victorian - much of it purchased at embassy sales.
4. Methodist Parsonage (1900): The rear portion of this Victorian style structure was so badly rotted that much of it could not be moved. Thus. Mrs. Thomas built a modern kitchen across the back end of what could be moved and intended to use it as a guest house for her personal friends. It was originally located on North Fredonia Street. right around the corner from the First Methodist Church. It is typically Victorian with 12 foot ceilings which have the effect of 'trapping' the heat up high while cooler air remains below. Victorians decorated with wood so there is much fancy trim on doors, windows and ceiling moldings.
5. Double Corn Crib (late 1800s): A This structure houses early Texas farm equipment, including everything from hull blinders to pea shellers.
6. Millard Lee House (1837): This family home and boarding house was built by Robert Millard who was the great-grandfather of Mrs. Thomas and was later purchased by the Lee family, whose daughter, Emily. lived in the house with her brother until the 1950s. Emily ran the boarding house which used to be located where the Stone Fort Bank parking lot is today on "El Camino Real" which runs through town as South Fredonia Street. It is one of the earliest milled timber buildings built in Nacogdoches and is known as one of the best examples of the "two-story double house" (one side being a mirror image of the other) still standing in Texas. The rooms are large to accommodate boarders and ensure good ventilation. It also features a "double-entry staircase" utilized by servants and family to attend to the upstairs sleeping quarters fiom the kitchen.
7. Country Store: Mrs. Thomas and her carpenter replicated this structure with part of the double corn crib and some aquired old lumber. Today this ''typical'' mercantile store houses old store furnishings, signs and merchandise.
8. Caboose (early 1900s): This caboose was part of a train that was chartered by the E.B. Hayward Lumber Co. in 1905 to haul logs out of East Texas forests and became known as the Nacogdoches and Southeastern Railroad line. Eventually, it operated under the Frost-Johnson Lumber Co. and connected with the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe lines as it took on transportation of other commodities including passenger service. (for 25 cents) The depot was located on South Fredonia Street between the Stone Fort Bank and the creek. Service ran between Nacogdoches and San Augustine before W W I through the early 1950s. When the line was discontinued, the caboose was given to Clyde J. Woodward, Sr. who was at the time superintendent at the Frost &endash; Johnson Mill and a man who loved trains. He had it moved to his farm on the Upper Melrose Road where it served as a playhouse for family children and friends. It was donated to Millard's Crossing by the Bussa family (who inherited it along with the farm) in the early 1960s.
 |
||
|
The country store and the log office at Millard's Crossing. |
9. Log Office (1860s): This little log structure was built as a land office and was located on the first county road going east off of Hwy 59 north of the Appleby water tower. This is about six miles north of Nacogdoches. This structure probally had many uses over the years, but it is typical of the size and shape of most offices of the19th century in East Texas until after theCivil War when milled timber and bricks were available and affordable to most businesses.
10. Free Methodist Chapel
(1905): This church was established in 1905
according to the Deed Records of Nacogdoches
County, Vol. 58. p. 2 19. by a group of "free"
methodists. Free Methodists were an independent lot
who did not agree with all of the Methodist
doctrines. They trained their own "lay" preachers
(not officially ordained) and insisted that the
church pews be free of charge. It was a common
practice to charge a fee for use of a seat in
church but Free Methodists didn't think you should
have to pay to sit down and hear the word of God.
This church did not have a steeple until it was
moved because that was a Iuxury that they either
couldn't afford or found unnecessary. The church
stood on the corner of Townshead Street and South
Fredonia (Hwy 7) about one block west of South
Street and was finally disbanded sometime after W W
II because there were not enough Free Methodists to
support it and also because circuit preaching which
was how it was served) became prohibitive with the
rationing of gas during W W II.
11. Log School House:
This structure is a replicated version of the
original one which was housed here until February
of 1999. Due to the poor condition of the original,
the Jounior Forum of Nacogdoches graciously donated
funds for a reconstruction to serve as an
educational facility for school tours. The original
building was not built as a school. It reflects the
practice common in the outlying rural areas to
utilize existing buildings for schools since most
children only attended for "short sessions" due to
an extensive growing season and the very real need
for their labor. There are three conflicting
accounts as to its original location but all of
them agree that it was from "somewhere" in
Nacogdoches County.
12. Watkin's House
(1895): This home was built by Mrs. Thomas's
maternal grandfather. The home reflects the
practice of starting out with a rectangular country
farm house with a breeze-way through the middle
that was later "Victorianized" by adding a bay
window parlor on the front amid an adjacent porch
trimmed with the "gingerbread" so typical of those
times. It has a well on the back porch which was a
common in the South due to the high water table,
the Carrizo-Wilcox Sand Aquifer which could be
tapped into at about 25 feet in most areas. This
availability of good water made it possible to make
the water supply a part of the house
plan.
|
13. Doris Millard House: This house was located on North Street and belonged to Mrs. Thomas' late cousin, Doris Millard. It dates to the early 1900s. It is now owned along with other property by Mrs. Thomas's daughter, Ann Lasater. 14. Carriage House: This structure once sat behind what is now La Hacienda Restaurant on North Street. When the restaurant owners cleared space in back of the house for a parking lot, the carriage house (later garage) was moved to Millard's Crossing. For some time three city firetrucks dating back to the early 1920s were displayed in this building. They were "on loan" and when she died they were moved to a recently established "Fire Museum" downtown. |
The Doris Millard House (Left) and the Carriage House (Right). |
15. The Sitton "Dog Trot" House: This house was located about 5 miles down CR 698 west of Central Heights. It was built in the 1843 by William Hayter who came to Texas in 1842 with his wife, Susan. Their youngest daughter married into the Sitton family and the house was donated to Millard's Crossing by Sam Sitton who still lives on the property. It is a large dog trot house with an ample sleeping loft and "squared" logs, probably modified when the logs were covered over with milled timber at a later date. We think this is the lasts house that was moved onto the property just before Mrs. Thomas suffered several severe strokes in the late 1980s.
The Center for East texas Studies has created a VR Panorama of Millard's Crossing which shows (Clockwise): The Free Methodist Chapel, the Log School House, the Log Office, a portion of the Country Store, the Caboose (Hard to see because of the sun), the Millard House, the Fire House, and the Watkins House. This VR Panorama is available in either a large (Better quality) or small (Faster load time) file.
|
6020 North Street (Business
59 North) Telephone/Fax: (409) 564-6631 |
Monday - Saturday 9:00 AM -
4:00 PM |
©2000 The Center for
East Texas Studies,
Stephen F. Austin State University, P.O. Box 6134,
Nacogdoches, Texas 75962 USA
Email: CETS@sfasu.edu
URL: http://www.cets.sfasu.edu/