Thomason Residence

The R.E. Thomason residence, located at 1325 Montana in El Paso, was a Trost & Trost designed home built for former Mayor and Federal Judge R. Ewing Thomason. Still standing, the building, which is in excellent condition, has been converted to offices and is the home to the Certified Public Accountant Paul Meza.

Interestingly, although the home was built for Thomason, he never lived there. The residence at completion was immediately occupied by the Two Republics Life Insurance Medical Director Dr. Benjamin Worsham, who remained at the location until his untimely death in late 1918 or early 1919. The home was then occupied by his wife Margaret as a widow for an unspecified period of time. Thomason, meanwhile, continued to live at his former residence at 418 Rio Grande, except for 1913 when his address was listed on Lee Street.

The home was built in an American Foursquare, or "Prairie Box" architectural style, which is an offshoot of Craftsman. Foursquare is a simplified Prairie style that features a characteristic "box" shape, usually 2-1/2 stories with four rooms each floor (hence the name). The half-floor is a central upper dormer. Foursquare frequently sports full-width front porches, sometimes enclosed, with square columns, craftsman rectangular windows, and exposed rafter trails underneath large, overhanging eaves. The unique shape of the chimney on the Thomason home strongly suggests that the designer was Gustavus A. Trost, however we are unable to find documentation. Many historical sources state that Henry Trost is responsible for the design. Whoever drew the plans, the home is strikingly beautiful.
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Text and research provided to the El Paso Sketch Club by Mark Stone. This historical narrative is derived from newspaper articles accessed through the Library of Congress' Chronicling America project at https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/ and the University of North Texas (Denton) Digital Archives at https://texashistory.unt.edu/

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

Google Earth Street View, accessed 2/23/2020

El Paso herald., August 03, 1912