This gabled Craftsman-style home was built just after the turn of the century for Daniel C. Cogdell, Granbury's premier businessman, banker, and cattle baron. It was designed by Cogdell's personal friend famed architect, Wyatt Hedrick, who had designed and built the Texas Hotel in Fort Worth and the Shamrock-Hilton in Houston. Cogdell employed three master cabinetmakers to construct his Mission-style "bungalow." The result is a beautifully constructed warm house, which features incredible woodwork and built-ins throughout the house. Coppered glass windows are featured across the front of the house.
The present house was built on the foundation of a palatial 22-room Victorian mansion (pictures above) which was destroyed by fire in the early 1900's. Cogdell family members often referred to the new home as the "small house".Historical Landmark
Far from small, the Cogdell home is the largest historic home in Granbury. It still contains many of the Cogdell's original massive oak furnishings from 1885, including the large dining room table, two server cabinets, bookcase, and bedroom sets. Only the finest and trend-setting newest was used in this home; birdseye maple wood floors, coal burning central heat, a basement, two solariums, a back-to-back fireplace, a skylight, two bathrooms with 6 1/2' custom-built bathtubs, a retractable ceiling fan, a butler's bell, and many built-ins.
Family lore states that Mr. Cogdell himself traveled to East Texas to personally select the lumber for his home, and he chose only high-quality kiln-dried timber. The fine interior pine woodwork still has the same natural stain that was applied when the house was built. Mr. Cogdell was very proud of the fact that there were no knotholes in any of his home's woodwork.
A native Texan, Cogdell settled in Hood County in 1872, and established a saw and grist mill near Long Creek. After closing his lumber mill, he moved his family to Granbury and engaged in the real estate and insurance business. In 1883, Cogdell and fellow land dealer John H. Traylor formed a private bank and loan company, and then constructed an Italianate Victorian commercial building.
Cogdell and Traylor's private banking venture proved to be so successful that they founded The First National Bank of Granbury in 1887 with a group of local businessmen. Cogdell was elected president of the newly chartered bank, a position he retained for 48 years. The First National Bank of Granbury celebrated its 100th birthday in 1987, and is still located in the building that Cogdell and Traylor constructed in 1883.
A tall and very handsome man, Cogdell was known as a natural leader and an innovative entrepreneur who owned many businesses and industries in Hood County. He was president of the Hood County Milling Company, a cottonseed oil mill located near the railroad tracks in Granbury, and he was also president of the Granbury Quarry Company, which produced much of the limestone used to build the historic structures on Granbury's town square.
In addition, Cogdell owned thousands of acres of land throughout Hood County and Texas, and also raised hundreds of head of cattle and had a stable of race horses, his only "hobby."
Cogdell married Lucy Norfleet Duke in 1873 and they had eight children: five girls and three boys. Mrs. Cogdell died in 1925 as the result of an accident, and Mr. Cogdell lived alone in the house for a number of years before one of the widowed daughters, Leanna, came to live with him and care for him in his later years. Mr. Cogdell died in 1945 at the age of 96, much of his wealth having been lost in the stock market crash in 1929 and the following depression. Leanna kept, and lived in, the house for 16 years before selling it to Dr. John Little, a local physician.
The house became a B & B in 1992 and was called The Iron Horse Inn tIron Horse Inno reflect Mr. Cogdell's ties with the railroad. Extreme care was taken during the conversion process to assure all woodwork done exactly matched that which had been done nearly 100 years ago. Bob and Judy Atkinson acquired the house in 1995 and have continued this fine bed and breakfast with an additional three rooms. The interior decorating is the work of Judy, while the fish pond, waterfall, and landscaping was all done by Bob. Note the antique wire fence which surrounds half the property, original to the Victorian mansion, and the massive, 300-to-400 year old live oak trees. The numerous, large pecan trees on the property were planted when this house was built, nearly 100 years ago.
This home has been featured in D Magazine, Southern Inns, Texas Highways, and numerous Fort Worth and Dallas newspaper articles. The Iron Horse Inn is recognized as one of the Top Ten Bed and Breakfasts in North Texas. It is a premier property, being selected and approved by the Historic and Hospitality Accommodations of Texas.
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