Mark in Texas History: Gaines-Oliphint House receives marker as historic site

SABINE COUNTY, Texas (KTRE) - An East Texas home built over 200 years ago is now officially a historic site.

The Gaines-Oliphint House is located by the Texas-Louisiana border in Sabine County. Records show the home was built back in 1818, making it the oldest representation of early Anglo architecture in the Piney Woods.

It is believed more than 50,000 people passed by the home, as the Gaines family ran a ferry business on the same property.

The open entryway of the two-story home contributed to its preservation.

“This was chopped down by hand. They moved those huge trees from there in the woods near the Sabine River where they were building this, moved that probably with oxen,” said President of the Ezekiel Cullen Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Lois Lacy.

Visitors today can see the actual axe marks in the wood.

Two of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas chapters worked together to get a historical site marker for the home. Thanks to a $3,500 grant, the new marker is in the works, and they hope it will encourage historical research.

“One of the purposes is to find places like this and give them the prominence that they deserve,” Lacy said.

It was a year-long process, working with a Sabine County historian to make it happen.

If you would like to check out the Gaines-Oliphint House in Sabine County, it’s on State Highway 21, seven miles east of Milam.