(The following information was
taken from the Texas Historical Commission web site.)
The Waggoner Mansion or El Castille, as it is sometimes
called, is an excellent example of Texas' finest Victorian masonry
architecture. Built in 1883, the house has retained approximately
ninety percent of its original craftsmanship and material. This
percentage far exceeds most large Victorian homes of this nature
that remain in such a good state of repair in Texas, and consequently
by all means this home can be classified as being "authentic".
Both the exterior and interior walls are of solid poriferous limestone
construction. Although the exterior is in a good state of repair,
it is in need of preventive maintenance such as painting and minor
material replacement. Exterior cornice detailing, opening trims
and porch construction are combinations of wood and metal. Grill
work on the exterior around the roof is original, although the grill
work around the porches of the house has been added after 1941.
The house contains a large basement, sixteen rooms
and six and one-half bathrooms. There are two bedrooms downstairs
and four upstairs. The interior of the house is in very good condition.
The intricate woodwork, hardware and finishes are well maintained
and only portions of some ceilings and upper walls are in need of
any repair. There are many distinguishing features of the home.
They include 18 ft. ceiling heights downstairs, 16 ft. ceiling heights
upstairs, intricately carved door mouldings on all the interior
doors with a Texas "LoneStar" motif carried throughout
the house, brass hinges, doorknobs and miscellaneous hardware, frescoed
ceilings in a few of the rooms, stained glass transoms above all
doors and windows, interior wooden shutters on all windows, eight
fireplaces each with decorative tile insets, light fixtures, especially
made for individual rooms and marble lavatories in all of the bathrooms.
An artisan named Decker was brought from France to the Waggoner
Mansion at the turn of the century to add the fresco decorations
in some of the rooms. Decker signed one of the compositions in an
upstairs room.
Only a few interior alterations have occurred.
For example a butler's pantry has been converted into the kitchen.
The original family kitchen is now used as a family living room-den
with a fireplace that had previously been walled up. The fireplace
was probably sealed when the home was restored by William Thomas
Waggoner in 1931.
The house was built and owned by the Waggoner family
from 1883 until 1942. The mansion was generally unoccupied from
about 1922 until it was purchased by Mr. and Mrs. Phil Luker in
1942. The Luker family have lived in the house since their purchase
of it.
There is a separate addition to the house at the
rear. Out buildings include a wooden smokehouse, storm cellar, and
a more recent four car garage with stables underneath. To the northwest
of the house stands one of the original bunkhouses used on the Waggoner
Ranch.
This impressive masonry Victorian house was the home of the Waggoner
family, prominent in the early days of ranching in Texas. In the
boldness of the style and in the strength of the material the builder
achieved an appropriate expression for the original owner, Daniel
L. Waggoner, and the times he personified.
In the middle of the nineteenth century, Dan Waggoner drove a small
herd of Longhorns into Wise County and launched a successful career
that by 1870 earned him the recognition of being a "cattle
king." At the time he built this baronial mansion it was the
headquarters for the distinguished Waggoner Ranch which reached
into a seven county area. By 1900 this sixteen room two story house
was the headquarters for this well-watered and compact ranch that
spread thirty miles east and west and twenty-five miles north and
south, and included over a million acres. The Waggoner Ranch supported
over 60,000 head of cattle, and it was served by three separate
railroad lines. Dan Waggoner died in 1904, and this house became
owned by his son, William Thomas Waggoner. After oil was discovered
on the ranch in 1903, development resulted in the founding of the
Waggoner Refinery in 1911. The fortune which resulted from this
cattle and oil base enabled the Waggoner Family to become one of
the richest and most influential families in the Southwest.
In 1931, W. T. Waggoner restored the home. After the death of W.
T. Waggoner in 1934, the house was sold to Mr. and Mrs. Phil Luker
in 1942. The moviemakers of the film "Giant" duplicated
the exterior for the movie set. Thus, the Waggoner mansion is one
of the foremost and striking architectural remains of the indelible
marks left by the cattle empire of Victorian Texas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alexander, Drury Blakeley, Texas Homes of the
Nineteenth Century, Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966.
Kirkland, Tom, "Visit to a Fabulous Texas
Mansion", Denton Record Chronicle, December 20, 1959,
pp. 5-6
Webb, Walter Prescott, ed., Handbook of Texas,
Vol. II, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1952,
pp. 850851.
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