Stockman and farmer James William Bailey (born June 18, 1825, Nashville) settled here in 1851, built a considerable agricultural estate of about 4,000 acres near Big Hill, and was active in the Masonic Lodge. He married Nannie C. Green on April 24, 1872; their daughter Jane India Bailey was born September 20, 1878. Nannie became a vivid local character remembered on the porch in men’s clothes, chewing tobacco. She died May 25, 1936, leaving the property to India, who held it until 1948.
House history
Completed in December 1897, the property is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark with marker year 1996. The THC Atlas entry confirms the RTHL status; the marker application file adds photographs, narrative, and the approved inscription. The house exhibits a modest Queen Anne cottage plan with cypress siding, longleaf pine interior woodwork, local brick foundation piers, a softly curving wraparound porch with tapered posts on brick piers, and a southeast light tower with fish-scale shingles. Four nine-foot walk-through windows open to the porch. A parlor and study are joined by nine-foot pocket doors with original hardware. Mantels with beveled mirrors survive in two bedrooms and the parlor. Interior doors retain operable transoms and rods. Ceilings are twelve feet high. A family room and bath were added at the rear in 1950.