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Martha S. and Dr. L.W. Chilton House

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Dr. L. W. Chilton House (1902)


A Late Victorian Queen Anne style house with spindle work detailing this house was designed by  South Texas architect Jules Leffland and built by the accomplished local craftsman, Bailey Mills.   The Chilton house served as the center of the active and exceptional life of Dr. L. W. Chilton.  Dr. Chilton was a pioneer in the practice of medicine in South Texas and practiced as a physician and surgeon in Goliad County, Texas for over 50 years.   

Construction of the house was initiated in June, 1902 and completed in October 1902.    This large two-and-a-half-story Queen Anne sports a hipped with cross gable roof and  spindle work style wrap-around porch. There is a faux tower fashioned on south-east corner.  It follows an irregular plan which reflects a middle1920’s addition.  Although the house is asymmetrical horizontally; vertically it is  identical on both floors.  With few exceptions each room window and door on the first floor is duplicated on the second floor.  

 The front entry door opens into a wide hall which runs straight to the rear door.   All ceilings are ten feet high and the floors of the public rooms are pecan over pine added c. 1945  A Florida white pine stairway leads south from the center hall and past the stairway doors open north to the dining room and south to the master bedroom.  The parlor and dining room are joined by a set of eight foot tall wooden pocket doors.  Original fixtures converted from gas to electric are still hanging in the parlor and dining room.  A door on the west wall of the dining room leads to the kitchen added c. 1925.    A door opens from the kitchen to the back porch. .  A fireplace with the original oak and tile mirrored mantel adorns the northeast corner of the master bedroom .  The first floor bathroom adjoins the master bedroom and still contains a claw foot tub .  The master bedroom has an exit to the south porch and a door to the sitting room.  The faux tower fashioned into the south east corner forms an alcove in the sitting room.

  On the second floor landing, two steps lead north to a bedroom and two steps lead south to the second floor hallway.  The south bedroom has an adjoining bath and is shaped identically to the first floor bedroom but has no fireplace.  A door leads to the south porch.  It adjoins another bedroom which is identical to the first floor sitting room.  The alcove formed by the tower in the east bedroom has a door to the tower porch and a door to the library.  The second floor hall has doors to the library on the east the second dining room on the north , and the screened back porch on the west.  The dining room adjoins the library with double French doors to the east and the second kitchen on the west.  The kitchen has a door to the screened rear porch.  Adjacent to the hall door, the library has a door to the east porch.  






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