 n
January 26, 1963, Texas A&M lost one of the last remaining
vestiges of its nineteenth century heritage. Once again, as with
the Mess Hall in 1911 and Old Main in 1912, fire destroyed a long
familiar landmark--the President's home. Around noon on a cold,
blustery Saturday, flames burst from around one of the chimneys.
Despite efforts by students and the combined A&M and Bryan
fire departments, the seventy-year-old residence was gradually
reduced to a blackened shell. At the time, the structure was the
residence of J. Earl Rudder '32 and his family. For four hours,
while fire slowly gutted the house, volunteers removed many of the
family's possessions. Many of President Rudder's World War II
mementos stored on the upper floor were destroyed, making the loss
even more costly.
At the time of construction in 1891 the home was
described as an "elegant mansion."
It was to be the new home of governor Lawrence
S. Ross, who had accepted the A&M presidency. At a cost of
$44,500, it was as elegant as architect E. T. Heiner could make
it. It was two stories in height with a steep hipped roof. The
large rooms had twelve-foot ceilings. Highly decorative two-story
porches extended around the sides. To the late architect Ernest
Langford '13, the old home was everything one could expect of an
elegant mansion of the period. Shortly after the fire Langford
described the finer architectural details as follows:
"The decorative features of the porches included turned
columns, brackets, pendants, and an especially ornate balustrade
on the first floor. Gable
ornament, a highly decorated tower and a bay window off the
stair marked the Victorian character of the old building.
|
Unfortunately the elements took their toll of these
features, with the result that along about 1930 the porches were
rebuilt in such a manner as to give the old house something of a
colonial appearance. Square columns replaced the
turned ones, all gingerbread ornament went to the scrap heap--only
the tower and bay window remained. But long before that job of
remodeling, the old building lost one of its most distinctive
features -- a pale or picket fence whose gateposts were topped
with delicately turned finials."
"The interior details were equally
as interesting as those of the exterior. The entrance hall was at
the right, spacious, and gave access to the main
rooms on the first floor. A sweeping stairway, finished with
highly decorated and carved newels, rails and balusters, invited
one to the second floor. All door and window trim, baseboards,
cornices, and other doodads bore unmistakable evidence of having
been produced by plane, sticker (knife) and lathe. Classic mantels
framed open fireplaces; an elaborate wainscot ran around the
dining room and paused long enough for a seat to be formed under a
bay window in the exterior wall."
Although it deteriorated over time, it was
home to some of Texas A&M's most notable personalities. In
addition to Rudder, the house served as the residence for
Lafayette L. Foster, David E. Houston, Henry H. Harrington, Robert
T. Milner, William B. Bizzell, T. O. Walton, Gibb Gilchrist, E. C.
Bolton, M. T. Harrington '22, and David H. Morgan. Had it
survived, the home would have been a fitting monument to a time
long passed.
|
