MIDLAND, Texas — When you think of historic Midland homes, you might think of George W. Bush’s childhood home, and for good reason. Not every town was once home to not one, but two of the 46 Presidents.
But some Midland residents might not know that 5 minutes away from the Bush home is the Brown-Dorsey House... which has a history itself.
"The house was actually built in 1899," Midland Historical Society President Jim Collett said. "It was built by TD Wadley who was a lumberman here. The family (The Brown Family) moved in in January of 1900. And now this is the oldest remaining house in Midland. It's one of the very first houses built to a plan. As you can see it has the Victorian style of narrow arches and gingerbread. So it's also kind of a neat look at what's called ‘Folk Victorian’."
Located on 231 N Weatherford Street, not only is it the oldest house in Midland, it’s the only known Victorian residential architecture left in the city.
And when you have something there’s only one of, you preserve it.
And the Midland Historical Society has done that.
"Well, we’ve owned this house since the late 1960s when the last member of the family passed on," Collett said. "And we've maintained it as a historic property and restored it as it looked when the family lived here in the early 1900s."
And every once in a while, they give tours to the public… taking you back to 1900.
They did this on the Fourth of July last week, and I got the chance to go back in time.
"So the house is furnished as it would have been when the family lived here in the early 1900s," Collett said. "And many of the items actually belong to the family and they were donated to us. There was no electricity when the house was built. And so when you came to the house and you wanted to let the Browns know you were here, they had what was called a crank doorbell all mechanical."
Collett then rang a doorbell you wouldn't hear today.
And that's just it, the Brown-Dorsey House isn’t the typical house you’d find in Midland today.
"This house if you're noticing it's very very compactly built," Collett said. "We thought it was a kit house; Sears used to make what was called a kit house. You got plans in the kit and everything. It's actually older than that. It was built to an actual plan whereas before that many houses were just what they call board and batten; you just kind of built it up. And so this one is very compact. So everything like the stairwells, you can see fits real tightly."
Even though the house was already crowded, the family still did its part to help out in the war effort: by providing a home to those who didn’t have one.
"So believe it or not, even though the Browns had quite a few children and the Dorsey's had quite a few children living here, they rented out rooms to soldiers," Collett said. "And so on the staircase wecame up, there's a window, there was a door there so the soldiers could actually get in and not disturb the family in their private space. So that was pretty common during the war years, that everyone could rent out rooms to soldiers or their families."
The family who lived in this house were integral parts of early Midland history.
"Zachary Taylor (Z.T.) Brown was one of the early pioneers who came out here first in the sheep industry," Collett explained. "Then he got into ranching and was also in the mercantile business. He and his wife Sarah had a number of children. One of their daughters was named Sarah, and she married a saddlemaker here named Hugh Dorsey. And that's where the name came from. So two generations of the family lived in this house."
The house has become a true time capsule.
"And they would have had what's called an icebox," Collett showed me. "You put ice in the bottom and then you could put your refrigerated items or glass here and it circulated around. And so you could keep things there."
And with six kids around, toys were aplenty during this time, and they were also on display at the house.
But the kids weren’t the only ones who could have fun, adults had their own way of passing the time.
"And over here we have washers," Collett said, pointing to a sandbox with washers in it. "You have a large washer that you stand here and pitch toward the other cup. So the idea is very similar to horseshoes. [...] if you get the washer in the cup, you get three points. If you get the closest in the pit, you get one point."
It may not have the notoriety of the Bush house, but the Brown-Dorsey house has definitely made its mark in Midland history.
A true Midland historical artifact; mere walking distance from a lot of resident’s own homes.
And with 123 years standing, with its history, I’d expect it to stand 123 more, educating the future of what it was like in 1900.
The Midland Historical Society are having many more events in their future, if you're interested, follow them on Facebook.