Near Milam in Sabine County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

The Gaines-Oliphint House

Photographed by James Hulse, December 19, 2025

1. The Gaines-Oliphint House Marker

Inscription. The Gaines-Oliphint House, a two story, double-pen, hand hewn log house was constructed circa 1818 by James Taylor Gaines for his third wife's parents, identical to the Gaines Ferrying House, built in 1815 located about three-fourths of a mile downhill. The earliest surviving Pre-Republic, Anglo American structure in Texas, it's a perfect example of dog-trot architecture made by Southern pioneers. The El Camino Real de los Tejas (King's Highway) passed near the house, the route commonly used by early travelers entering Texas. In 1836, Gaines sold the ferrying house and moved uphill to the second house later known as the Gaines-Oliphint House. On 7 Feb 1843, Martha Causey Oliphint purchased the house and eighty-one acres from Gaines. Still located on its original site, the Gaines-Oliphint House is on the National Register. Restoration made possible by the James Frederick Gomer Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Erected 2025 by The Daughters of the Republic of Texas.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. A significant historical date for this entry is February 7, 1843.

Location. 31° 28.028′ N, 93° 45.441′ W. Marker is near Milam, Texas, in Sabine County. It is on Ensign Drive north of Pike Drive, on the right when

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traveling north. The marker is located at the Gaines-Oliphint House historical site. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 350 Ensign Dr, Milam TX 75959, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Piney Woods.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Alfred D. and Martha (Causey) Oliphint (here, next to this marker); James Taylor Gaines (here, next to this marker); Gaines Memorial Bridge (approx. 0.4 miles away); Site of Historic Crossing on the Sabine River (approx. 0.4 miles away); Site of Sabine River Crossing (approx. 0.4 miles away); Texas Louisiana Boundary (approx. 0.4 miles away); Oliphint Chapel Cemetery (approx. one mile away); Kings Highway (approx. 2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Milam.

Also see . . . Gaines-Oliphint House: A Historic Log Home in Texas. Texas State Historical Association (TSHA)

The Gaines-Oliphint House is on State Highway 21 seven miles east of Milam in Sabine County. The structure, built by James Gaines on property that he acquired in 1830, is one of the oldest extant log residential buildings in Texas. The house, which measures fifty-two by twenty feet and has 2,000 square feet of living space, is a 1½-story double-pen log structure featuring dogtrots (see DOG-RUN HOUSES) upstairs and down. Longleaf pine was used for the planking, and cypress
Photographed by James Hulse, December 19, 2025

2. The Gaines-Oliphint House Marker (center marker)
was used for the foundation beams and roofing. A staircase attached to the wall of the west pen in the downstairs dogtrot area provided access to the second floor. The upstairs dogtrot was enclosed, and porches ran the length of the house both front and back. All of the flooring was hand-planed and had a tongue-and-groove construction; the ceiling joists and base moldings were also hand-planed and beaded. In the interior of the house, the spaces between the logs were covered with hand-beveled batts. The two chimneys, one at each end of the house, were constructed of local stone and handmade brick, and the chimneys' original limestone mortar contained shell from the nearby Sabine River.

(Submitted on December 20, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.)

The Gaines-Oliphint House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by James Hulse, December 19, 2025

3. The Gaines-Oliphint House

Photographed by James Hulse, December 19, 2025

4. The Gaines-Oliphint House

Credits. This page was last revised on December 20, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 19, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas. This page has been viewed 58 times since then and 31 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 20, 2025, by James Hulse of Medina, Texas.