Robert E. Howard House - Cross Plains, TX - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

Constructed circa 1919, the Robert E. Howard House, Highway 36 west, Cross Plains, Callahan County, is a one- story, roughly T-shaped single family dwelling of box, or board-frame, construction. The vertical boards which serve as the structural system are sheathed in weatherboard, and the house rests on brick piers with brick infill. The intersecting gable roofs are covered with asphalt shingles. Turned posts with decorative spindlework support a shed roofed porch on the facade, or north elevation. Despite a shed roofed addition on the rear elevation and interior alterations, most of which are reversible, the house retains its original form and design and its floor plan has been essentially preserved. It retains integrity of design, materials, workmanship, and location.

In 1919, Howard moved into the house with his parents, and from 1924 to his death in 1936, he wrote most of the stories for which he is internationally renowned. Howard wrote for the pulp fiction magazines which enjoyed an extensive popularity in the early and mid-twentieth century and created a subgenre of literature--heroic fantasy, or sword-and-sorcery--which attained its widest popularity almost thirty years after Howard's death. Although Howard wrote in a variety of genres and created a number of popular series characters, he enjoyed his greatest success in the subgenre of popular literature which he created and which featured his most successful and enduring character, Conan the Cimmerian. Regarded as one of the major twentieth-century exponents of fantasy literature, Howard's significance is national. The period of significance extends from 1919, when Howard, who had already embarked on his tentative writing career, and his parents moved into the house, until 1936, when Howard, despondent over the impending death of his mother, committed suicide. The Robert E. Howard House is the one property most closely associated with the writers life and career and served as both his home and office for his brief career.
From the NRHP narrative.
The Robert E. Howard House is currently the only property in Callahan County listed on the National Register.
Related waymarks:
Robert E. Howard (Texas Historical Marker): WM316V
Robert E. Howard (Gravesite): WM3176
Robert E. Howard Museum: WM5A35

Street address: 625 West Highway 36 Cross Plains, TX United States 76443 County / Borough / Parish: Callahan County Year listed: 1994 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Person: Robert E. Howard Periods of significance: 1900-1924, 1925-1949 Historic function: Domestic: Single Dwelling Current function: Recreation and Culture: Museum Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed Secondary Website 2: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   11/29/2008 QuesterMark visited it

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