Lee Dick Home - Heritage Square Park - Texas City, TX
Posted by: 
jhuoni
N 29° 23.173 W 094° 53.762
15R E 315999 N 3252270
Located in Texas City's Heritage Square Park, the Lee Dick Home (Dick/Wetzel House) is one of several historic homes which have been preserved and relocated here.
Waymark Code: WM10K8P
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 05/20/2019
Views: 2
From The Lee Dick Home
Heritage Square Park
109 3rd Avenue North
Texas City, TX 77590
This house, originally located on Sixth Avenue South, was built by Robert Lee Dick and his wife Mabel Parr Dick in 1907-08. Mrs. Dick was a descendant of Jim Campbell of Campbell's Bayou, who was a privateer with Jean Lafitte.
Mr. Dick was a rancher and cattleman. Bertha Wetzel, one of his daughters, with her son and his family were the last to live in the home. This house was moved to Heritage Square in 1995.
The historical homes in Heritage Square Park are managed by the City of Texas City and the Texas City Historical Preservation Corp. The Texas City Heritage Association plays a vital part in the interior restoration of the homes.
Texas City's roots go back to the coming of the first Anglo-Americans to Texas.
One early settlement near the present city was by Lt. Jim Campbell, a follower of Jean Lafitte. Another was by James Perry, brother-in-law of Steven F. Austin. In 1892, the three Myers brothers of Duluth, Minn., and Capt. A.B. Wolvin bought most of the surrounding land and changed the name of the small town from Shoal Point to Texas City.
An informative marker on site tells:
Dick/Wetzel House
Built in 1907 by Lee and Mabel Parr Dick as their family home for themselves and four
daughters. The house was located at 1328 6th Avenue South when Mayor Chuck Doyle
requested that Doug Hoover, General Manager of the Texas City Economic Development
Corporation (TCEDC) contact the owners to explore purchasing the house to become part
of the Heritage Square Park. Terms were agreed upon with Bertha Dick Wetzel, youngest
daughter of the Dicks and a direct descendant of the privateer, James Campbell, Mayor
Doyle contacted Lloyd Nordhausen, Plant Manager of Marathon Petroleum Company, to
see if the company would purchase the real estate. Marathon paid enough to TCEDC for
the lot
to cover the expense of moving the house to its present location. Renovations
have been a project of the Carbide Volunteers, Texas City Heritage Association, and the
City of Texas City. The smokehouse and Dick/Wetzel Home officially became part of
Heritage Square Park and were dedicated on April 16th, April 6th, 1996.
Charles T Doyle, Mayor
City Commission
Larry Edrozo, Mayor Pro-Tem
Connie Jackson
Lynn Ray Ellison
Brandy Dietel
Sullivan H. Simpson
Texas City Economic Development Corporation
Board Of Directors
Ralph Holm, Chairperson
Robert Penrice, Vice-President
Charles T. Doyle
Dwight Spurlock, President
Elizabeth Iles
Doug Hoover, General Manager