Context and History
The house stands at 705 Saint Peter Street and is documented as built in 1915, a date corroborated by local tour literature and modern parcel data.
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Douglass arrived in Gonzales in the early 1900s, first as the local agent for the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway, then moved into banking at the newly organized Farmers National Bank, where he advanced from cashier to president. His long service and civic involvement tracked with a broader regional expansion in cotton, mercantile trade, and town-center infrastructure during the 1910s and 1920s.
Integrity:
Surviving interior millwork and flooring are frequently cited as original, including the oak floors with walnut inlay and period fixtures, supporting a high degree of interior integrity for a 1915 banker’s residence.
Architecture
A substantial early twentieth-century residence noted for its high-quality finish work in oak. Interior features include large exposed oak beams, oak crown molding, and oak hardwood floors with walnut inlay, with original hardware and light fixtures reported intact. The house form and finish reflect the period’s preference for solid materials, generous ceiling heights, and formal rooms suited to business entertaining by a community banker.