Webb-Schneider House

Webb-Schneider House. . In 1844, Georgia native William Graham Webb (1824-1902) immigrated to Texas and settled in La Grange. Soon after his arrival in Texas, Webb enlisted as a private during the U.S. - Mexico War, where he joined Jack Coffee Hays' Regiment of the Texas Mounted Rifles. Following the war, Webb was elected as a state representative and was a lawyer and newspaper publisher. On May 14, 1848, he married Sarah Hill (1832-1883), daughter of Asa and Elizabeth (Barksdale) Hill. The Webbs purchased this property on February 15, 1850, and built two separate houses. The second house was built as a one-story single passage between 1869 and 1870 and featured a small porch and exterior chimney. The attic may have been used as a living space, and outbuildings included a kitchen, barn and livery., The second house was on the west half of the property and had several owners and some additions until Louis Schneider (1867-1921), born in Cat Spring (Austin County), purchased the house in 1901. Louis was a merchant, bank cashier, and member of the La Grange Concert Band. He and his wife, Mary (1871-1956), had six children and significantly reconfigured the house, which has kept the same appearance since 1908. The Schneiders gave the house a two-story cross-gabled plan, with a front gable with dormer window and sunburst pattern, double gallery porch, clapboard and shingle siding, and jigsawn trim and spindlework. After Louis died in 1921, Mary continued to live here until her death in 1956, and their daughter, Adela, kept the house in the family until her death in 1990. The house is an intact example of a simple 19th century residence incorporated into a more elaborate early 20th century design, and a remembrance of many leading families of La Grange. , Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2018