Built in 1911 for Frances Josephine (Rainbolt) Hopkins after the death of her husband Samuel Houston Hopkins, this three story residence is attributed to architect Atlee B. Ayres and is listed at 912 Saint Louis Street. Contemporary local references agree on the 1911 completion date, Ayres’s authorship, and the association with attorney and orator S. H. Hopkins.
People and context.
Samuel Houston Hopkins (b. Aug. 12, 1870, Hopkinsville, Gonzales County; d. Nov. 22, 1909) was a prodigy who spoke publicly at fourteen, graduated with honors from Texas A&M at nineteen, and earned his law degree from The University of Texas in 1892, where he was recognized for debate and oratory. He first partnered in Fly, McNeal & Hopkins, then with G. W. Burgess (later a U.S. Congressman). He married Frances Josephine Rainbolt on June 19, 1895, and they had four children. In 1904 Hopkins moved his practice to San Antonio with Terrell, Hopkins & Terrell, while Frances remained in Gonzales. Hopkins died in 1909 after a long illness.
House history.
After Hopkins’s death, his brother in law J. W. Rainbolt acquired the tract from the D. S. H. Darst estate, platted street frontage, and conveyed a portion to neighbor Charles H. Hoskins. Frances Hopkins commissioned Atlee B. Ayres to design a new family house on the remaining parcel. The dwelling was completed in 1911. It is repeatedly described as a finished three story home with five fireplaces and hardwood floors. The third floor was finished and used as children’s rooms, later as a ballet studio; an elevator was installed in a later modernization. Frances later built a small house at the rear corner of the lot and moved there in her later years. She died Feb. 13, 1955, and is buried beside Samuel in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.
Designation: Local historic interest for association with attorney S. H. Hopkins, with the Rainbolt family, and for authorship by Atlee B. Ayres.
Period of significance: 1911–mid 20th century, beginning with Frances Hopkins’s commission and construction following Samuel’s death, through the family’s long occupancy and later adaptations.
Notable owners and associations:
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Frances Josephine Rainbolt Hopkins — commissioning owner and long time resident.
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Samuel Houston Hopkins — attorney, celebrated debater and orator, partner in notable regional law firms.
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J. W. Rainbolt — brother in law who assembled and replatted the site after 1909.
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Atlee B. Ayres — architect of the 1911 house.
Architecture: Early 1910s mansion designed by Atlee B. Ayres, three full stories with five fireplaces and finished third floor, hardwood flooring, and a plan and massing comparable to other Ayres residential works of the period in South Texas. Addressed in period notations as 912 Saint Louis Street.