S.H. Hopkins House

Samuel Houston Hopkins, born August 12, 1870, in Hopkinsville, near present day Wealder. He was the son of Coleman Pendleman and Mary Ann Fry Hopkins. Known for his sharp mind, Sam made his first public speech at age fourteen on the topic of prohibition. At nineteen, he graduated with honors from Texas A&M College before enrolling in The University of Texas Law School, where he graduated in 1892, earning accolades as the best speaker and debater. That same year, he joined the law firm of Fly, McNeal, and Hopkins. After the partnership dissolved in 1894 when Fly became a judge, Sam partnered with G.W. Burgess, who would later be elected to Congress in 1902.

On June 19, 1895, Sam married Frances Josephine Rainbolt in Luling. Frances, born in Nebraska in August 1870, moved to Texas with her parents, John Welly and Elizabeth Teefey Rainbolt. The couple had four children. In 1904, Sam relocated to San Antonio and joined the law firm of Terrell, Hopkins, and Terrell, though Frances remained in Gonzales. Sam passed away on November 22, 1909, after a prolonged illness.

Following Sam's death, his brother-in-law, J.W. Rainbolt, purchased the property from the D.S.H. Darst estate. He deeded part of the land to the city for streets and sold half of it to Charles Hoskins, owner of the previous house on this tour. It was Frances who had the house built, which was completed in 1911. Designed by renowned architect Atlee B. Ayers, the house features three full stories, five fireplaces, and beautiful hardwood floors. The top floor was originally used by the Hopkins children and later served as a ballet studio. An elevator was added sometime later. After the children moved away, Frances relocated to a house she built on the back corner of the lot. She passed away on February 13, 1955, from pneumonia and is buried beside her husband in the Gonzales Masonic Cemetery.