When the second, early 1850s-built Capitol burned in 1881, James Baird Smith, Scotsman and architect of the temporary capitol building, was specifically granted “all the material in the Supreme Court building, the old Treasury building, and the old Capitol building” in his contract. Smith hauled the limestone from the Capitol area to 13th Street and created this beautiful home for his wife and seven children, building the main house and the carriage house from 1882-1883 or 1884. He also built a rental home on an adjacent block to the north, so the trades and craftsmen building the new Capitol would have sturdy lodging.
The Smith Houses are truly historic buildings in downtown Austin.
More contemporaneously, William Sidney Porter, better known as O. Henry, vandalized various sites in Austin as a demonstration of affection for his wife, Athol. One of those sites was the Smith House, where he carved her name into a windowsill on the east side of the house.
Both the Smith House and the Smith-Clark-Smith House – the rental home Smith constructed on 14th Street – are designated by the Travis County Appraisal District as historical landmarks.
Just a few short blocks from the Texas State Capitol, the Smith House was originally built in 1882 by Scottish architect James Baird Smith. Smith reportedly salvaged bricks and stones from the Capitol that burned in 1881 to construct this building, making it one of the truly historic buildings in downtown Austin. The historical marker refers to the Smith-Clark-Smith House in recognition of its owners and their efforts to restore the building. In 1975 the building, including the carriage house, was designated by the appraisal district as an historical landmark.
Smith-Clark-Smith House Through the Years
Hubert Jones Glass Plate Negative Collection
