Cox House
The town of Orange began as a settlement in the late 1820s on a bend in the Sabine River. By the Turn of the Century, the town had expanded north of the river bend. Thomas C.B. Cox (1856-1929), a civil engineer for the Lutcher and Moore Lumber Company from Alabama, married Delha Renfro (1865-1934) in 1890. Cox purchased two lots in 1909 from Agnes Jett in Orange and, by 1910, they build a comfortable hose for their family.
Tom and Delta Cox hired Daniel Webster Howell, one of Orange’s major builders, to build the house in the Shingle Victorian style. Around the bottom and under the eaves of the house, is flared fish scale style skirting. The ceilings are 12 feet high. The floors are made of 2 inch planks of white oak. There are 33 windows on the house. Tom Cox’s career began in lumber but then went on to include surveyor, land man, deputy sheriff, and head of the tax department.
Several more families and tenants lived here over the years, including Carlton Trimble, president of the Chamber of Commerce and member of the economic development council following World War II. In 1944, the Trimble family added a second floor to the house and turned the back porch into a full room. The Roberts family in the 1960s added a carport and a fallout shelter to the house, now removed. This home is a reminder of the early 20th Century
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Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2015
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
Erected 2015 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 18169.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Notable Buildings • Settlements & Settlers.
Location. 30° 5.832′ N, 93° 44.12′ W. Marker is in Orange, Texas, in Orange County. Marker is on West Orange Avenue east of Sixth Street, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Orange TX 77630, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Woman's Club of Orange (approx. 0.2 miles away); St. Mary's Catholic Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); First United Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Christian Church of Orange (approx. ¼ mile away); Black Education in Orange County (approx. ¼ mile away); Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); First Baptist Church of Orange (approx. ¼ mile away); W.H. Stark House (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Orange.
Credits. This page was last revised on November 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on April 12, 2018, by Cajun Scrambler of Assumption, Louisiana. This page has been viewed 355 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on April 12, 2018.
