Houston Mayor Don Tottingham says a recent published report that the town’s oldest standing structure is among those on a city rehabilitation or demolition list has generated calls to save it.
The Tweed House, situated near Airport Road and West Highway 17, was built in 1858 and served as the county’s first courthouse.
The City of Houston plans to target 15 properties — two commercial and 13 vacant residences, including the Tweed House — for rehabilitation or demolition. Letters were slated to be sent to property owners in late January.
The west side of the Tweed house. A spring flows west of the home on Airport Road.
The Tweed House is owned by the City of Houston, and city officials say they are looking for individuals and groups to launch a restoration effort of the property. First on the improvement list is a new roof estimated to cost about $5,500.
The city has given interested parties until March 15 to develop a plan to save the home, which was built by David Lynch, great-great grandfather of Jim Tweed, the last to live there. The home was built of brick, and Lynch dug the clay, ground the mud and molded the bricks. They were finished in a brick kiln on the building site. At that time, the house had three large rooms, a hall and a porch. Bricks were laid lengthwise to form the walls, so they were several inches thick. In each room, large fireplaces remain. The windows and doors were hand-planed.
“We are seeking a plan of action from interested parties to renovate the house. If there is no interest by March 15, it will be included in the demolition request,” said Elaine Campbell, development director for the City of Houston.
Interested parties can contact Mayor Don Tottingham for additional information. City hall’s telephone number is 417-967-3348. Â Tottingham said persons wanting to donate can do so by sending it to: Downtown Houston Inc., P.O. Box 170, Houston, Mo. 65483. The organization on Monday agreed to donate all funds generated to benefit the city-owned property’s rehabilitation.Â
Tottingham said the goal is $20,000.
The structure, for many years, served as the county court. Many stayed overnight. Meals were cooked and stays extended to overnight. A nearby spring — still in existence — furnished water for the house and for the tannery that Lynch operated for many years.
During the early part of the Civil War, bushwhackers attempted to steal some of Lynch’s hides, so he buried them and his tools and fled with his family to Macon County in north-central Missouri in the fall of 1862.
During the family’s absence, bushwhackers tried to burn the brick house, but it burned itself out. The Lynchs and Tweeds left the burn marks as a landmark.
In spring 1866, Lynch returned with his family and lived there until 1906, when he died at age 87.
Source: Houston Herald, 1953, Houston Herald digital archives, houstonherald.com/archives