Providence Baptist Parsonage - Main Street Historic District - Chappell Hill, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 08.457 W 096° 15.419
14R E 764233 N 3337581
Constructed in 1855, the Providence Baptist Parsonage in the history-rich town of Chappell Hill, TX was the residence of a woodworker before it began to be used by the nearby 1873 Providence Baptist Church. It is now a Visitor's Center and museum.
Waymark Code: WMN6JK
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 01/04/2015
Views: 3
Chappell Hill's NRHP Main Street Historic District is an area covering 36 buildings, most of them built between 1850 and 1915 and reflecting the many variations in architectural style within that period in history. For more information on this particular Historic District, please see the following waymark: (
visit link)
The founding of the town of Chappell Hill is contributed to Mary Hargrove Haller who purchased a 100-acre site in this part of Texas on February 2, 1847 and subsequently commissioned a survey and the plotting of town lots. Just three years later, Mary Haller and her husband Jacob began building a two-story frame house now known as the "Stagecoach Inn" at the northwest corner of the center of that new town.
The Providence Baptist Parsonage, also known as the "Henry C. Brandt House", is located towards the southern end of the Historic District and 3 blocks away from that "Stagecoach Inn". It was built in 1855 and was at one time the residence of Henry Christian Brandt, a German immigrant who used his unique cabinet making skills he acquired back in Germany to become a successful contractor and builder in the region. Mr. Brandt ultimately got into the merchandizing business in 1874, then sold his house to the nearby
Providence Baptist Church in 1893 where it served, from time to time, as a pastor's residence.
The building was showing some serious signs of deterioration once the church was no longer in use, but it was fortunately acquired by the Chappell Hill Historical Society in 1996, restored to its original condition, and now serves as a Visitor's Center and historical museum.
Per the
Texas Historical Commission Atlas records, the Parsonage includes the following features:
"L-shape, wood-frame, vernacular residence with shed addition at rear reflects Greek Revival influence in its style and detailing. Symmetrically arranged five-bay front contains two 6/6 wood-sash windows on each side of a single transomed entrance door with sidelights. Transom bar has been obscured with paint and 12/8 windows appear at rear. Later board-and-batten addition at rear contains 4/4 windows. Side front windows were originally shuttered. Small lean-to porch, supported by four turned posts with scroll brackets at corners. Original wooden roof exists under composition shingles. Gable room is terminated at eaves with molded wooden mantle in south front room. Building in poor physical conditions. Outbuildings include a cistern and early wood-frame barn. An early woodworker residing on the property, J. R. Gallow, had a steam engine, boiler, turning lathe, and tools."