Nichols-Rice-Cherry House

Significance

This Greek Revival house was built in 1850 by Ebenezer Nichols at Congress and San Jacinto streets on Courthouse Square in downtown Houston. In 1856 it was sold to William Marsh Rice, Nichols's business partner, whose estate later founded Rice University. In 1897 Emma Richardson Cherry, an artist and pioneer of art education in Houston, bought the house with a $25 bid and moved it to Fargo Street in what is now Montrose, where she lived and taught art. In 1959 it became the first historic building moved into Sam Houston Park, restored by the Harris County Heritage Society. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1967 and today shows the lifestyle of William Marsh Rice along with a representation of Cherry's studio.

Climate risks tracked

The house has already been moved several times, which means its foundation is a modern placement rather than its original footing. On Houston's shifting clay soils, pier foundations under a wood frame house need periodic leveling checks, because uneven settlement cracks plaster and racks door and window frames. The columned front porch and wood siding are its character defining features, and they face humidity, rot, and hurricane wind. Keeping paint films intact, flashing the porch roof well, and anchoring the porch structure to the house matter more than any visible storm hardware. The park's low ground near Buffalo Bayou also calls for clear drainage under and around the house so floodwater and standing rain do not linger at the sills.

Use the preservation assistant to talk through retrofit strategies for these specific threats.

Location

Nearby landmarks

• 1847 · Greek Revival (vernacular brick)

  Kellum-Noble House

• 1823 · Frontier Log Cabin

  1823 Old Place

• 1870 · Greek Revival (simplified)

  1870 Rev. Jack Yates House

• 1891 · Vernacular Gothic Revival

  1891 St. John Church