George W. Fulton Mansion, Second Empire mansion in Fulton, United States.
The George W. Fulton Mansion is a four-story house in Fulton, Texas, designed in the French Second Empire style and topped with a mansard roof. It sits overlooking Aransas Bay and features tall windows along with ornate exterior trim from its original construction.
George Fulton and his wife Harriet Smith had the house built between 1874 and 1877, at a time when their ranching business had made them one of the most prosperous families on the Texas Gulf Coast. The site was later recognized by the state and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The French Second Empire style of the mansion was fashionable in Europe at the time but rare along the Texas Gulf Coast. Visitors today can see how that design choice set this house apart from everything else built in the region during that period.
The site offers guided tours that take visitors through the interior rooms and their original furnishings. Checking ahead about which areas are open on a given day is a good idea before making the trip.
When it was completed, the house had gas lighting, central heating, and hot running water in every bedroom, which was rare even in large cities during the 1870s. Some of these original systems are still visible during the guided tours.
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