Built in 1888 for George Washington Betts and Imogene Darst Betts, this late Queen Anne residence reflects the town’s post-Civil War recovery and the prominence of the Darst and Zumwalt families. George W. Betts was born January 22, 1840, in Atlanta, Georgia. After the war he settled here, taught school in several precincts of the county, and later managed the Darst Cotton Gin. He married Imogene Darst on September 4, 1870. Imogene, born June 28, 1848, was the daughter of David Sterling Hughes Darst and Emaline Zumwalt Darst. Her father David was fifteen when the Alamo fell and his father, Jacob Darst, died there in battle; David and his mother witnessed the burning of Gonzales and fled during the Runaway Scrape.
George died October 2, 1899, and Imogene died May 12, 1908. Both are buried in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.
Ghosts of Gonzales
Longtime residents have associated the house with ghost stories and unexplained occurrences, and the property appears in local ghost-lore collections and oral histories. Ghosts of Gonzales is a book detailing haunted spots around Gonzales and is available at the Gonzales Chamber of Commerce.