F.L. Hawkins Tenant Farmstead, 0.65 miles northeast of the intersection of Arrowhead and Old Buena Vista Roads, Waxahachie, Ellis County, TX

Historical report was missing page number 3 when it was submitted to HABS.

Significance: The farmstead dates to the 1920s when cotton cultivation dominated the local, agricultural-based economy, and it represents the kind of tenant farm that helped Ellis County become a major supplier of cotton in the nation during the early twentieth century. The complex of buildings is on a 3.55-acre parcel in George Keen Survey in western Ellis County that originally was part of a 130-acre tract of land owned by Judge F. Lee Hawkins. A prominent Waxahachie attorney who served on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals for almost 30 years, Hawkins initially bought the land for his son. When the son decided to remain in Waxahachie, Hawkins leased the property to tenant farmers. The house, which dates to the 1920s, served as the headquarters for the farm. The house remains a good, local example of a Craftsman bungalow in a rural setting. The barn, silo, granary, barns, well, and sheds relate to the successful operation of a tenant farm. The Hawkins family retained ownership of the property through 1961. The complex still provides a vivid illustration of an early to mid twentieth century tenant farm in the region.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N1884

Survey number: HABS TX-3384

Building/structure dates: ca. 1920 Initial Construction

farming cotton industry tenant farming craftsman architectural elements ellis county hawkins farmstead hawkins tenant farmstead miles northeast intersection arrowhead old buena vista roads waxahachie ellis texas architexas bruce fowler gary garmon w h getzendaner heck hardy f l hawkins gilbert hickox historic american buildings survey larry irsik richard martratt craig melde david moore jeanie o brien ernesto robles j j robnett edward sergeant gary skotnicki stan solamillo texas national research laboratory commission diane van buren w d westmoreland photo old house buena vista library of congress

1920

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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