Thomason-Scott House - Era, TX - Victorian Style Architecture on Waymarking.com

Erected in 1894, this structure was the home and office of Dr. Benjamin Richard Thomason (d. 1909), one of Era's first physicians. Dr. Thomason's son Robert Ewing (1879-1973) hauled lumber from Gainesville for the construction. Later he had a long public career, serving as a U.S. Congressman and Federal District Judge. The frame house has Victorian porch detailing and elegant interior woodwork. In 1948 the residence was acquired by the L. A. Scott Family.

The National Register's Nomination Form (see Web Address) notes the home's significance as being an example of a Victorian cottage that was once common across North Texas, with few significant modifications over the years. It takes a few paragraphs to say that there's an asymmetric floor plan, multiple gables, fishscale shingles, and Eastlake detail, but it's great reading for those who appreciate these beautiful old homes:

The entrance (north) front of the house consists of a center front door and side window, both sheltered by the front porch, and a double window with hood supported by triangular Eastlake brackets on the shallow northeast ell. The hip roof of the porch is supported by turned posts with fan-like brackets; a small lateral gable with fishscale shingles defines the entrance. The posts are joined by a Chinese Chippendale balustrade, unusual for the area. The larger lateral gable over the double window features octagonal fishscale shingles; its vergeboard has bullseye corner blocks and beaded boards similar to architraves found inside the house. The structure is covered by bevel siding and a large hip roof with gables; a small plain balustrade runs east-west along the ridge of the roof.

The east side of the house has irregular fenestration and the roof is broken by two lateral gables similar to that on the north front. The porch too is similar in detailing to that on the entrance facade, although large sections were filled in thirty years ago. The west side of the house has has three bays and one lateral gable, while the rear (south) side of the house, originally a porch, has also been partially infilled.

The north (front) door has heavy Eastlake detailing and beveled glass, and leads into the entrance hall. Interior doors have transoms and the type of corner blocks and beaded architraves found on the vergeboards of the exterior lateral gables. Bronze hardware is used throughout the front portion of the house. Noteworthy interior features include two sets of 9' sliding wood doors (one surmounted by decorative lattice work); two elaborate period mantelpieces; a built-in china cabinet in the original dining (center west) room; and a raised medicine chest in the center east bedroom for the supplies of the structure's first occupant, a doctor. The stained glass back door and the bulk of the period lighting fixtures in the house have been added recently; infilling of the porches occurred about 1948 and after 1974. As is evident in a comparison of the photos, other alterations include covering the wood shingles, removal of the chimneys in 1948 and the bricks used to construct the brick and iron porches, change in paint colors, and simplification of the roof cresting. Replacing the chimneys is the only change proposed at present, but all these alterations would seem to be reversible.

The house is also significant to the National Register because of its use as the home and office of the first physician (Dr. Benjamin Richard Thomason) in this part of the county, as well as having been the home of a prominent member of the United States Congress, Judge Robert Ewing Thomason. Judge Thomason attended law school at the University of Texas, and was elected County (now District) Attorney of Cooke County (1903-1907). After relocating to El Paso in 1912, he was elected to the Texas Legislature (1917-1921), and he served some of his term as Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives (1920-1921). He served as Mayor of El Paso from 1927 to 1931, and then as Representative of the Sixteenth District of Texas in the U.S. Congress from 1931 to 1947. During World War II, he was the second ranking member of the Military Committee of the House, playing an important part in shaping the military policy of the United States. He became U.S. District Judge for the Western District in 1947, serving in that role full time until assuming senior status in 1963, and continuing until his passing in 1973.