Roger Q. Mills House
Circa 2010. Photo by Nicolas Henderson.
Roger Q. Mills House
1200 West 2nd Avenue, Corsicana, Texas 75110 • Date: c.1855/c.1885
This 2-story frame domestic building retains a high degree of its 19th century character, including Greek Revival influences such as the center passage form and full width porch with classical columns. Roger Quarles Mills built the original house soon after acquiring this tract in 1854. He greatly enlarged the house by adding a second floor within a decade and another 2-story addition in the 1880s. Relatively few exterior changes occurred after this period, although two outbuildings probably date to the early 20th century.
One of Corsicana's earliest and most influential pioneers, Mills provided prominent leadership in the community for almost six decades. Trained as a lawyer, he served two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1872. Mills' knowledge of trade and tariff issues led to his position as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in 1887. Following the appointment of John H. Reagan to the chairmanship of the newly created Texas Railroad Commission in 1892, Mills assumed Reagan's seat in the U.S. Senate. He retired to his home in Corsicana in 1899 (Roberts 1929). Upon his death in 1911, the property passed to his son, Charles H. Mills, also a lawyer and state senator. While the family sold most of the original tract for redevelopment in 1924, they retained the house and its immediate surroundings until 1944. One of the few extant examples of Greek Revival architecture in the city, the house reflects the period of Mills significant political career as well as the role played by the family estate in the development of the surrounding early 20th century neighborhood.
This 2-story frame domestic building retains a high degree of its 19th century character, including Greek Revival influences such as the center passage form and full width porch with classical columns. Roger Quarles Mills built the original house soon after acquiring this tract in 1854. He greatly enlarged the house by adding a second floor within a decade and another 2-story addition in the 1880s. Relatively few exterior changes occurred after this period, although two outbuildings probably date to the early 20th century.
One of Corsicana's earliest and most influential pioneers, Mills provided prominent leadership in the community for almost six decades. Trained as a lawyer, he served two decades in the U.S. House of Representatives beginning in 1872. Mills' knowledge of trade and tariff issues led to his position as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee in 1887. Following the appointment of John H. Reagan to the chairmanship of the newly created Texas Railroad Commission in 1892, Mills assumed Reagan's seat in the U.S. Senate. He retired to his home in Corsicana in 1899 (Roberts 1929). Upon his death in 1911, the property passed to his son, Charles H. Mills, also a lawyer and state senator. While the family sold most of the original tract for redevelopment in 1924, they retained the house and its immediate surroundings until 1944. One of the few extant examples of Greek Revival architecture in the city, the house reflects the period of Mills significant political career as well as the role played by the family estate in the development of the surrounding early 20th century neighborhood.
