Sayles, Henry, House - Abilene, TX
N 32° 26.634 W 099° 44.899
14S E 429659 N 3589886
The Henry Sayles House is located at 642 Sayles Blvd, Abilene, TX, and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. Today, it is still used as a residence, doing extra duty as a bed and breakfast and wedding venue.
Waymark Code: WMVPYB
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/16/2017
Views: 4
This house is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and a 1995 Texas Historical Marker in the front yard provides some background:
Henry Sayles (1852-1916), born and reared near Brenham, Texas, studied law under his father, noted legal scholar John Sayles (1825-1897). Henry practiced law in Galveston where he met and married Hattie McAlpine. The couple moved to Abilene in 1886. Sayles practiced law here in partnership with his father and oversaw real estate belonging to Galveston clients. John and Henry Sayles wrote and published several books on Texas law.
Hattie and Henry Sayles, Sr., built this house about 1889, at a time when few homes existed on present-day Sayles Avenue. Portions of the house, including a rear addition built sometime between 1895 and 1903, were remodeled after fire damage in 1941. Extensive renovations of the house began in 1974.
The house is an excellent local example of a late Victorian-era dwelling. It features finely-executed Queen Anne details, including porches with turned wood posts and balusters, jigsawn brackets and frieze, shingled and decorative wood gable ends, and a decorative brick chimney.
As the president of Abilene Land and Improvement Company, Henry Sayles, Sr., was responsible for the development of Abilene's Sayles Avenue neighborhood. The house remained in Sayles' family until 1974.
Street address:
642 Sayles Blvd
Abilene, TX USA
79605
County / Borough / Parish: Taylor
Year listed: 1976
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Law, Architecture
Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1875-1899
Historic function: Domestic
Current function: Domestic
Privately owned?: yes
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
Hours of operation: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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