The John Nance Garner House, located in
Uvalde,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, was the home of American
Vice-President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
John Nance Garner
John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...
and his wife Ettie from 1920 until Ettie's death in 1948. Garner, a native of Uvalde, lived there until 1952, when he moved to a small cottage on the property and donated the main house to the City of Uvalde as a memorial to Mrs. Garner. The house is now known as the Briscoe-Garner Museum, and also known as the Ettie R. Garner Memorial Building.
The structure is a two-story, H-shaped, hip-roofed, brick house with white trim around doors and windows, and brown shingles on the roof. It was built to plans by
Atlee B. Ayres, at the time the most prominent architect in
San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, s ...
, if not the state. The building housed the community library until about 1973. It then became a
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
, using the first floor for displays documenting Garner's life and career.
The main house and
cottage
A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a Cotter (farmer), cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager ...
were designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
[ and ] and listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
on December 8, 1976.
On November 20, 1999, the City of Uvalde transferred ownership of the Garner Home and Museum to the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
, whereupon it became a division of the
Dolph Briscoe Center for American History
The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History is an organized research unit and public service component of the University of Texas at Austin named for Dolph Briscoe, the 41st governor of Texas. The center collects and preserves documents and ar ...
. In 2011, the University closed the house to the public for renovations. The displays were moved to the First State Bank of Uvalde main branch lobby. When the renovations are complete, the first floor will still be devoted to Garner, and the second floor will have new exhibits dedicated to
Dolph Briscoe
Dolph Briscoe Jr. (April 23, 1923 – June 27, 2010) was an American rancher and businessman from Uvalde, Texas, who was the 41st governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
Because of his re-election foll ...
, the 41st
Governor of Texas
The governor of Texas heads the state government of Texas. The governor is the leader of the executive and legislative branch of the state government and is the commander in chief of the Texas Military. The current governor is Greg Abbott, who ...
and also a Uvalde native.
See also
*
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas
This is a List of National Historic Landmarks in Texas and other landmarks of equivalent landmark status in the state. The United States' National Historic Landmark (NHL) program is operated under the auspices of the National Park Service, and re ...
*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Uvalde County
References
External links
Briscoe-Garner Museum - Dolph Briscoe Center for American HistoryTexas Historic Sites Atlas
{{Uvalde County, Texas
Museums in Uvalde County, Texas
National Historic Landmarks in Texas
Houses completed in 1920
Historic house museums in Texas
University of Texas at Austin
Garner, John Nance
Atlee B. Ayres buildings
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas
National Register of Historic Places in Uvalde County, Texas
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks
Uvalde, Texas