A Guide to the History of Richardson, Texas: Structures

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Historic Structures in or near Richardson

SKILES HOUSE

From the forthcoming book, RICHARDSON: A History of One of the Biggest Small Cities in Texas

Old Skiles House
The Skiles house is probably the oldest home in Richardson. Author photo.

This old wooden two-story house at 813 Belt Line Road is still being used as a private residence today. It was built by Thomas A. and Priscilla Skiles about 1868. It is almost certainly the oldest house in Richardson.

Thomas A. Skiles was born in Warren County, Kentucky in 1821. He married Priscilla Hamilton in 1851 and thereafter came to Texas, about 1855, eventually settling on a farm about a mile west of what would eventually become old downtown Richardson. Mrs. Skiles died of pneumonia in this house at 5 p.m. on April 16, 1909. Her husband died shortly after, on February 11, 1910 in Carrollton, where the couple's married daughter resided. Both were buried at the Blewett Cemetery on Arapaho Road.

Location (Google Maps)
813 Belt Line Road, Richardson