610 N. Washington
Current Owner 2013: Allen Family
Marshall 1894, Sheet 10, Block 105, Lot 536
Marshall 1899, Sheet 3, Block 105, Lot 536
The Allen House was listed on the National Register with a group of structures located in the Ginnochio Historical District in 1974.
Texas Historical Marker
The Allen House recieved a TX Historical Marker in 1979.
Description: The Allen house is a 1879 two-story large Folk Victorian structure, with a third floor attic. The front façade contains a two-story, gallery type banister porch which extends the entire width of the house. Both floors of the porch are supported by four wooden round Doriac columns. The main entrance is in the center of five bays, surrounded by a transom and headlight. In the 1950s, many additions transformed the house into apartments. But in 1975, the additions were removed to transform the house back into its original state. The interior still contains original pine floors and woodwork.
Significance: The Allen house is located within the Ginnochio Historic District and considered the flagship of restored homes in Marshall. There is a gazebo with historical marker in honor of Georgiana Lale, the wife of Max Lale.
Walker Montecue Allen moved to Marshall in 1876 with his wife Eliza Ann Handly-Allen and their nine children. Although there is no documentation remaining, historian Max Lale revealed in a family oral interview, that when the family first arrived to Marshall, they rented the Van Zandt home located on the property where East Texas Baptist University now stands. The Allen house was completed around 1879. It is interesting to note that the warranty deed to the land title was in Eliza Allen's name, the reason for that is unclear. (Warranty Deed, Amory R. Starr to Eliza A. Allen, 118 x 120 feet. Consideration $1. Vol. 15, page 460, Deed Records of Harrison County).
According to the 1880 census, there were eleven people living in the Allen home, Walker and Eliza, eight of their children, and a mother-in-law. And at the time, Walker Allen was a practicing minister. (Year:1880; Census Place: Marshall, Harrison, Texas; Roll: 1309; Family History Film: 1255309; Page: 321C; Enumeration District: 041.) Allen died on May 19, 1899, followed by his wife on February 16, 1902, which resulted in their four daughters receiving the deed to the house, E. Emma Allen, Hattie E. Allen-Jacquish, A. Jessie Allen, and Annie Allen, all of whom continued to live in the home. Emma Allen was the last family member to live in the Allen house and after her death in 1942 the house was rented out by the youngest Allen son, George Montecue (Monty) Allen, until he sold it in 1944.
A few rooms were added between 1944 and 1975 on both floors, including additional bathrooms and kitchens, thus dividing the house into a number of apartments. These rooms were later removed in 1975 when the Harrison County Historical Society purchased the home and restored it back to its original design. Once the home was restored, the Historical Society turned it into a museum and beginning in 1979, the house was included as part of the Harrison County Historical Society historical homes trail. Unfortunately, lack of funds prevented proper maintenance of the home so it was placed back on the market for sale. In 2011, the Harrison County Historical Society sold the house back to descendents of the Allen family who are presently renting out the home. (Allen Family File, Harrison County Museum Archives.)
Allen House Photos
Allen House Front Taken by Natalie Bach-Prather
Allen Right View Taken by Natalie Bach-Prather
Allen Left View Taken by Natalie Bach-Prather
Allen Right View w/ Gazebo Taken by Natalie Bach-Prather
Gazebo in honor of Georgiana Lale Taken by Natalie Bach-Prather
Original Allen House c.1880 Courtesy of the Harrison County Historical Research Archives and edited by Natalie Bach-Prather.
Update Allen House c.1900 Courtesy of Harrison County Historical Research Archives and edited by Natalie Bach-Prather.
Allen House c.1920 Courtesy of Harrison County Historical Research Archives and edited by Natalie Bach-Prather.
Reveren Walker Allen Courtesy of Harrison County Historical Research Archives and edited by Natalie Bach-Prather.