(2015) Enlarge The Beard House

(2015) Enlarge The Beard House

(2015) Enlarge The Bateman/Rowell House
 
This house is said to date from the war, built in 1862 by Jefferson businessman Quincy Bateman whose son King D. Bateman served in the Confederate army in the 19th Texas of Walker's "Greyhound" Division. After the war it was purchased by another veteran, A. H. Rowell. The house is said to a type of modified Greek Revival so popular at the time and is said to retain many features such as original gaslight sconces, imported French wallpaper, and outbuildings including slave quarters.

(2015) Enlarge The Bateman/Rowell House

(2015) Enlarge The Grove
 
Probably Jefferson's best-known - not to say notorious - house is the modest cottage known as The Grove for its location on a tree-filled lot some distance from downtown: it has the probably grossly exaggerated reputation of being the most haunted house in Texas. Built around 1861 by Frank Stilley, a local cotton factor (buyer) from Louisiana, for his bride Minerva, the house has elements of typical Louisiana "raised cottage" architecture, but was considerably enlarged postwar by additions to the rear which do not show in these photos. The Grove's reputation really began after 1885 when the house was purchased by local barber and businessman Charles J. "Mr. Charlie" Young, a leader in the local African-American community. In more recent times the house has been the subject of many newspaper stories, magazine articles, and TV news features regarding its supposed paranormal activity; as can be seen on the sign, the current owners give regular "ghost tours" of the house by appointment.

(2015) Enlarge The Grove

(2015) Enlarge This quiet street scene above is fairly typical once leaving the downtown commercial area; note the intermixing of architectural styles from various time periods: on the corner at right is The Manse from 1839; at center is the 1870's House of the Seasons; and at left a nice bungalow from the 1920's or 1930's; next to it is one of the many vacant lots which provide an area of spaciousness but in reality mark the location of other houses that have given way to time by burning, collapsing, or being torn down.

(2015) Enlarge The House of the Seasons
 
This huge Victorian fantasy home seen above and below is one of many post-bellum residences built in the years following the war but before the drop in the level of Big Cypress Bayou; some others were built even following that particular catastrophe. The structure gets its romantic name from the glass panes in the cupola at top: each of the four sides has glass of a different color suggesting the four seasons, red for summer, golden yellow for fall, blue for winter, and green for spring. The house is open frequently for tours and is also a bed-and-breakfast.