New Effort Started to Save LG’s Historic Faison House
The N.W. Faison House, located at 822 S. Jefferson St. (Hwy. 77) across from the Fayette Public Library in La Grange, is an important Fayette County cultural site, with a unique legacy dating from the mid-nineteenth century. The future of this privately-owned landmark, on the National Register of Historic Places at the state level of recognition for its social history, needs to be assured.
The La Grange Garden Club, along with the Faison Preservation Society, have undertaken numerous restorations since the Garden Club purchased it from the Faison family in 1961. Today, however, these two small groups are together struggling to maintain the structure since grants do not cover lawn care, general maintenance, or utilities. The Faison Preservation Society has established an endowment fund to provide a revenue stream for general upkeep.
A series of articles will be published in the coming months to demonstrate the importance of keeping the stories of the Faison House alive. This first article describes the personal history of Nathaniel W. Faison, who was a key player in Fayette County long before he acquired the house that now bears his family name.
N.W. FAISON
Nathaniel Wright Faison, known as Nat, was born April 24, 1817, in Sampson County, North Carolina to Wright and Mary Faison. As a teenager, he moved with his family to western Tennessee where he became a land agent and surveyor. He carried his profession to Texas in 1839 and on the 1840 Census he is listed as owning one town lot, one silver watch, and one saddle horse. In 1840 Faison served as a captain under Colonel John Henry Moore in the last major expedition by Texas troops against the Comanche Indians.
In 1842, the occupation of San Antonio by an invading Mexican army under General Woll, a protégé of Santa Anna, infuriated Texans. The news reached La Grange on September 14 and the next day under the oak tree (still standing magnificently at the corner of Colorado and Washington Streets in La Grange), Captain Nicholas Dawson issued a call for volunteers to help drive the Mexicans out of Texas. Faison and fourteen other La Grange men heeded the call. Faison was required to provide his own equipment, which included a good musket, suitable bayonet, belt, six flints, knapsack, and a cartridge box with 24 suitable ball cartridges.
Dawson, Faison, and other volunteers rode night and day until they reached Nash’s Creek, sixty miles from La Grange. Colonel Matthew Caldwell and his army were encamped on Salado Creek east of San Antonio and proceeded to draw Woll’s army out of the city to engage them in battle. Late on Sept. 17, Caldwell sent out an express rider with a message that “urged on all companies” to join him. Captain Dawson and his men hurriedly broke camp, saddled their tired horses, and rode all night. On the morning of September 18, Dawson’s company determined Caldwell’s position and found the battle already underway. They advanced until they could see the battlefield about two miles in the distance. They did not know that they were approaching the rear of the Mexican army until it was too late. Woll sent 400 men and one piece of artillery to crush the newly discovered Texans. By the time Dawson and his men realized that the approaching troops were Mexican, retreat was out of the question. The men sought cover in a sparse mesquite thicket and prepared to stand and fight. They were quickly surrounded but were able to keep the enemy at bay with their rifles. However, Mexican cannon began to open fire, and Dawson’s force was defenseless. About sundown, the Mexicans made their final assault and the battle became one of hand-to-hand combat. When the battle ended, 15 men, including Nathaniel Faison, had survived the carnage. They were disarmed and stripped of everything except their shirts and pants. Their hands were tied behind their backs and their pockets turned inside out in search of money.
Only Faison had any, about two dollars, but he wore a ring that one of the Mexicans wanted. Faison pretended he could not get it off but, when the Mexican drew his knife and made signs that he would take off the finger, Faison made another try and it came off easily. Two days later, Faison, chained to Edward Manton, and the other prisoners were marched on foot out of San Antonio along with the Mexican army bound for Mexico. Three months and a thousand miles later, the men reached their destination, Perote Prison, below Mexico City. The men were chained together and made to work. Their rations were poor, they suffered severe illnesses and several men died. Nathaniel Faison and the rest of the surviving men of the Dawson Company were released on March 24, 1844. They had been in prison for 19 months.
After Faison’s return to La Grange, he was hired as Deputy Fayette County Clerk in 1844. From 1845 until 1854 Faison was the Clerk of Fayette County. In 1848 he and Manton revisited the Dawson battlefield, collected the bones of those who died, and buried them on the bluff above La Grange, where the monument now stands.
The Census of 1860 revealed that Faison had $20,000 in real property and $8,000 in personal property. His occupation was listed as “gentleman.” Over the next ten years he continued to add to his land holdings. In 1866 Faison bought the house on Jefferson St. that now bears his name. He worked as a land agent and amassed a fortune in real estate and gold. Just prior to his death he owned 35,000 acres of land in 14 different counties and nearly $5,000 in gold and silver. He is buried in the Old La Grange City Cemetery.
One of the very notable things about Nathanael Faison is his friendly relationships with African-American residents of Fayette County. The 1870 U.S. census recorded three residents of the Faison House besides Nat Faison. They were: Lou Brown, mulatto, age 42, housekeeper; Lizzie Blair, black, age 19, cook; and William Blair, mulatto, age 16, servant. These people are likely to have begun living in the house soon after Faison bought it. The census taker recorded that the freedwoman Brown had real estate worth $4,000 and a personal estate valued at $4,000.
A few months before his death, Faison had sold his house and contents to Louisiana (Lou) Brown. From that time on, she used the surname Faison for the rest of her life. A following article will describe in detail her involvement with the Faison House, and the community of La Grange.
The house is open Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. Tours are free. Group tours can be arranged by appointment by emailing marie.watts@faisonhouse.org. If you wish to join the Faison Preservation Society in its efforts to preserve the house, please let Marie know.
Concerned public spirited citizens wishing to make donations in support of this cause can send contributions to Faison Preservation Society, P. O. Box 681, La Grange, TX 78945, or can easily do so on-line at www.faisonhouse.org. At this website, select DONATE NOW and then Donate under ENDOWMENT FUND. Enter the requested details, and select Credit Card or PayPal. Thank you notes with tax deduction receipts will be promptly send to all donors. We hope you will join us in this effort. We are all very grateful for your donations.
Look for the next article in this series next month. Researchers and authors who contributed to this article include Kathy Carter, L. J. Calley, Marie Watts and Arnold Romberg