322 Texas Street

322 Texas Street, also known as the Anna Burgoon House, has been a Denton Historic Landmark since 2010. Built in either 1913 or 1916, this American Foursquare is currently owned by Kevin Roden and Emily Roden.

Architectural Style: American Foursquare – an important architectural movement of the post-Victorian area.  There is talk that a previous owner discovered documentation indicating that this house was a Sears mail order catalogue house.  It lacks the decorative ornamentation of the Victorian period, yet it’s no nonsense design provides a roomy, family-oriented appeal. 

History of Boarding Houses in Denton – in the early days of our two universities, boarding houses that often bordered the campuses were an important part of student life.  They provided a home-away-from-home, often with a house mother to keep order and stand in place of the mother they left behind.  Anna Burgoon (purchased the house in 1928) is mentioned in the 1919 Texas Normal College (UNT) “Yucca” yearbook for being a house keeper of one of “our leading boarding houses” when she resided at 165 W. Sycamore.  During her 30 year ownership of 322 Texas Street (which is located directly on the South border of TWU), several dozen newspaper ads indicate that Mrs. Burgoon continued that tradition in this home for TWU (then College of Industrial Arts) students.

Example and Model to Other Run-down Properties – on the 1995 survey commissioned by the Denton Historical Landmark Commission, this property was only given a LOW PRIORITY rating.  This is most likely due to the presence of aluminum siding, hiding not only the age of the house, but the distinctive shape and trim of a traditional foursquare house of its period.  

Notable Occupants of House – among the seven or so owners of the house during its almost 100 year existence, none stands out as much as Mrs. Anna Burgoon.  Anna was born Anna Bushong in 1875 in Grapevine – the  log cabin where she was born continues to be an historic landmark in that town.  While there, Anna was a charter member of the Bay View Club, a women literary club.  Following the early death of her husband (and while still pregnant with her 10^th child, George Bushong Burgoon), Anna moved to Denton, perhaps due to the educational opportunities for her 6 children (four had died in infancy).  Despite her unfortunate circumstances and her heavy load of mothering responsibilities, Anna served the Denton community well.  She was a prominent member and chairperson for the Shakespeare Women’s Club of Denton where she hosted events in this home, played piano at events, and presented lectures on a range of topics from great operas, to the preservation of trees, to artistic movements in the US, to Chinese folk music, to the necessity of promoting Americanism over the errors of communism, fascism, and the like.  In addition, she served as president of the CIA (TWU) Mother’s Club, home group leader for First Baptist Church bible studies, and was appointed to the Denton Parks Board where she was instrumental in approving the site of the first Denton library.  An early feminist, newspaper articles point to her encouraging other women to vote.  She even served as chairwomen for the local committee charged with the campaign of Texas Gubernatorial candidate Dan Moody in 1926.

Historic Landmark application.pdf.

Picture from 1940s tax files

Condition of house in 2005 with aluminum siding

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