THE HICKS-GREGG HOUSE
OF
1249 WEST WASHINGTON STREET, BROWNSVILLE

At top left is the Southeast view of the West Washington home and on the right is the Northeast View.   These two pictures are from the Robert Runyan collection and were taken in August, 1920. (See link to this collection at the end of the narration.) Below is a 2007 photo by the current owner. (Pictures are thumbnails, Click to enlarge)

I. CONTEXT

As the city of Brownsville began to expand in the early 1900s, many of its streets began flourishing to include the construction of the city hall, Cameron County Courthouse, a motion picture theater and a high school.¹ In 1904 significant developments began to occur, such as the coming of the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway as well as the Brownsville owned electric-lighting system, waterworks, and sewerage system in 1908.^{2, 3} Although the city endured much border unrest resulting in the revival of Fort Brown in 1913, many families began populating the city’s first suburb. Soon the city’s growth brought paved roads and the completion of the international bridge in 1910 that connected Brownsville to its sister city, Matamoros. It was in this decade that famed photographer and botanist, Robert Runyon, began to document much military activity as well as civic developments.⁴

II. OVERVIEW

In 1909, Frederick I. Hicks purchased Lots 4, 5 and 6, block number 30, from the Brownsville Land and Improvement Company for $550.00. By 1912, county records reveal Frederick and Zuleika Hicks sold the property to Harry B. and Nellie Moler for $6,000.00. The Molers resided in the home until 1920 and then sold the home to John and Lily Gregg for the sum of $9,000.00. Mr. Gregg, one of the leading bankers of the valley, was president of the Merchants National Bank of Brownsville.⁵ Helen Bacon, a noted interior designer for the most prominent residents of Brownsville, purchased the home and sold it in 1964 to Hector and Mary Rose Gonzalez. Currently, the home is owned by Javier and Cristina Salinas.

Originally, the house was built by Frederick I. Hicks, a hardware merchant and landowner, for his second wife Zuleika Banton Blackshear Hicks. Frederick Impey Hicks was born in Brownsville, Texas, on Oct. 10, 1878. He was the son of Annette Pauline Impey of New Orleans and Benjamin Oliver Hicks of Tiverton, Rhode Island. ⁵ Zuleika Banton Blackshear Hicks was born in Dublin, Texas in 1886, and was the daughter of Imogene Banton and William St. J. Blackshear, a pharmacist and successful salesman. ⁶ Zuleika, who was to advance to a long career of public service, began her social work calling in 1927 with United Charities in Dallas, Texas. In 1929, she became executive secretary of United Charities in Texarkana, Ark-Tex. Her duties encompassed reorganizing the Pulaski Company of Little Rock, Arkansas, a relief agency under Federal Emergency Relief Administration. She then moved to Florida to work in the Federal Transient Bureau, heading up the Miami Bureau until 1934 when she returned to Austin, Texas. Her role in Austin was assistant Social Service Director for the State Relief Agency of the Texas Relief Commission and later director of the agency at the time the agency merged with Old Age Assistance to form the present State Department of Welfare.

Mrs. Hicks served as the head of Social Service for two years and in 1941 became Welfare Consultant for the Food Stamp Plan of the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture. In that role she traveled throughout the southern states. She then took the position of director of Home Service of Dallas Co. with the American Red Cross. Mrs. Hicks retired on September 15, 1952, in order to enjoy home life with her son and grandchildren.

In 1920, the home came into the hands of its third and most prominent owners, John and Lily Gregg, who created a considerable impact on the community during the time they owned the home. Their role in the community is why the home is referred to as the Gregg House. Mr. Gregg began his career with the First Merchants National Bank as a cashier and notary in 1913 and was also president of the Brownsville Country Club at that time. ⁷

A document drafted in 1914, details Gregg’s role in assisting C.W. Batsell, a family friend who was attempting to secure a Confederate pension, having served in the Civil War with Gregg’s father. As the son of Lieutenant-Colonel E. P. Gregg, who had commanded the 16th Texas Cavalry of the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Gregg share’s his insight regarding Mr. Batsell’s character. In the letter Mr. Gregg commends C. W. Batsell, a member of his father’s brigade, as being "a man of exemplary habits and the soul of honor." ⁶ He goes on to add, "We desire to commend Mr. Batsell in the highest terms and recommend that he be given the Confederate pension."

By 1926, Mr. Gregg had earned the title of bank president and retained it until 1931. The Greggs were active socially and listed in The Standard Blue Book-Texas in the Who’s Who Section as well as in the Social Register of the same year.⁸ However, events were to drastically alter the picture. In 1932, the Galveston Daily News reported that Mr. Gregg was on trial in federal court for misapplication of more than $200,000 of funds from the Merchants National Bank of Brownsville. ⁹ After his conviction, Mr. and Mrs. Gregg lived in Brownville until his death at which time Mrs. Gregg moved to Los Angeles. As stated in her 1964 obituary, word of Mrs. Gregg’s death was sent to friends in Brownsville and the Greggs’ local, civic, and social prominence was noted.¹⁰

The home is two and a half stories and features a four room plan reflecting the American Foursquare, or the Prairie Box design which is a post-Victorian style and a product of the Arts & Crafts era. The design incorporates a hipped roof with a full-width porch with wide stairs, wood siding and a large central dormer appearing atop the second story. Unlike most Arts & Crafts styles which include decorative (false) beams or braces commonly added under gables, each level of the home, including the dormer, displays a decorative brace under the gable on the exposed roof rafters that are also full-length and provide true support to the roof.

Adopting an elegant feature from the Queen Anne style, the home has a front facade bay window and shows classical symmetry with paired windows flanking a center front door. The house has a total of 31 windows on the first floor and 23 windows on the second floor. Another characteristic feature is three of the windows located in the center of the second story are smaller in size and are flanked with two larger windows that maintain the symmetry of the home.

Accentuating the first floor are four Tuscan columns supporting the wide porch. Borrowing a feature from Greek Revival style, the house’s entryway is adorned with an elegant frieze and a simple cornice. The back of the home faces west and has a secondary staircase that provides access from the kitchen directly to the bedrooms.

The property also includes a detached two-story, one bedroom residence believed to have been used as servants’ quarters. Records, including information from the 1910 and 1930 Federal Census, reveal two servants were living in the household.^{11, 12}

The interior of the home features a butler’s pantry and formerly had a ringer wired to the kitchen installed in the master bedroom. Other interior features include built-in cabinetry that define the rooms and maintains a boxlike appearance. Simple trim and baseboards complement the five panel doors throughout the home. The home’s design incorporates two fireplaces, one located to the right of the entryway in the living room and the other in the dining room.

The Runyon Collection lists the home as the Gregg House in August 1920, at which time the window-ensconced sunroom, which is attributed to the Greggs, had not yet been added.¹³ Neighbors, whose parents attended gatherings hosted by the Greggs, remember a specific area of the home known as the sunroom which was complete with a terrazzo floor complemented by brass inlay.

IV. SIGNIFICANCE

The neighborhood still retains several early and significant houses. The home across the street is known as the Dr. Merrill Residence. Photographs of this home are also included the Runyon Collection. Behind this structure is a home built by Frederick Hicks’ brother, Edgar Lawrence Hicks and is currently owned by the Lof family.

The Gregg House is one of the last remaining of West Brownsville’s intact two-story structures of the early 20^th century. In late 2005, the house underwent renovation to restore the home’s original features. These features are representative of houses in West Brownsville’s first subdivisions and are distinct in one of its largest and earliest existing homes. In December 2006, the home earned recognition by the Brownsville Heritage Council as a local historical site.

Photographs of the house discovered in the Robert Runyon Collection, The Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin, were integral in providing details on many of the original structural features. The current owners are working to restore the long-hidden character of the home so that it can live up to its reputation of being "the anchor of the neighborhood", a title given by it by long-standing neighbors. In returning the structure true to its original design, it has become a snapshot of early Brownsville. The home is now a symbol of Brownsville’s finest and proud community leaders of the past, as well as representing the rich heritage of the city.

V. REFERENCES