The house contains 14 rooms, 3 porches, 3 balconies, an expansive attic, an upstairs hallway, ample closets and 3 original fireplaces. The exterior of the home is of Louisiana cypress weatherboarding, the interior of pine, with wide-plank pine floors. Metal shingles cover the sharply-pitched roof, on which lightning rods with ornamental glass balls are mounted. While on a business trip, Judge Holman spotted 2 carloads of Louisiana cypress on a railroad siding. He bought it on the spot for his new home. Underground concrete blocks are anchor-bolted to solid pillars of red brick, 3-feet in height which were designed to support the house above then recurrent floodwaters. These also provided strength against hurricane force winds and would provide a drying/crawl space under the house.

The front entrance of the home faces east and is protected by a large brick-and-nine-columned porch which was designed to catch morning light and gulf breezes. A large turret covers the southeast corner of the porch, with a multi-windowed tower on the third floor above. An enjoyable balcony is above the main entrance and a dormer on the roof above. The front entrance is stunning with leaded glass above ornamented pine panels on either side of and above the heavy relief-decorated pine and oval plate glass front door. The original hand-turned doorbell is still in operation on the panel to the left.

This is just one of the many beautiful homes you’ll see in Bay City, so be sure and stop by the kiosk next to the Matagorda History Museum located right across the street from the courthouse square for more information on historical sites around Matagorda County.