James Newton and Eva Tabor Rayzor House

JAMES NEWTON RAYZOR WAS BORN DECEMBER 10, 1858 IN LOCKPORT, KENTUCKY. HE IMMIGRATED TO TEXAS IN THE FALL OF 1866 WITH HIS FAMILY AND SETTLED IN COLLIN COUNTY. IN 1871, THE FAMILY MOVED TO COOKE COUNTY WHERE RAYZOR LATER TAUGHT SCHOOL AT PRAIRIE GROVE AND AT PILOT POINT AND MUSTANG COMMUNITY IN DENTON COUNTY. HE MOVED TO DENTON IN 1882 AND MARRIED EVA TABOR, WHO WAS BORN MAY 18, 1864 IN PILOT POINT. RAYZOR WAS INVOLVED IN MANY BUSINESS VENTURES INCLUDING THE ALLIANCE MILL (NOW MORRISON MILLING CO.), ALLIANCE ICE COMPANY AND RAYZOR ICE COMPANY. HE WAS ACTIVE IN COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE MASONIC LODGE, SERVED AS PRESIDENT OF THE DENTON CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, WAS A MEMBER OF THE JOHN B. DENTON COLLEGE COMMITTEE THAT FOUNDED THE SCHOOL IN 1901 AND HELPED ESTABLISH THE STATE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS (NOW TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY). RAYZOR SERVED AS A DEACON AT THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH FOR 44 YEARS AND ALSO AUTHORED SEVERAL BOOKS ABOUT RELIGION, HISTORY AND HIS 1923 TRAVELS TO EUROPE AND THE HOLY LAND. JAMES AND EVA PURCHASED THE PROPERTY IN 1906 AND COMPLETED THE HOME IN 1909 WITH CONTRACTOR M.T. GOODWIN. THIS PRAIRIE STYLE HOME FEATURES HORIZONTAL LINES, EXAGGERATED OVERHANGING EAVES AND A HIPPED ROOF OVER THE SECOND-STORY BEDROOMS. RIBBONS OF WINDOWS LINE THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST SIDE OF THE HOME, AND REPETITIVE MILLWORK AND TONGUE AND GROOVE OAK FLOORS COMPLEMENT THE INTERIOR. THE SCREENED SLEEPING PORCH CONTAINED NUMEROUS BEDS FOR COMPANY AND THE FAMILY DURING HOT SUMMERS. AFTER JAMES AND EVA PASSED AWAY IN 1938 AND 1939, RESPECTIVELY, THEIR DESCENDANTS OWNED THE HOME UNTIL 1978.

James Newton and Eva Tabor Rayzor House is a historical marker in Denton, Denton County, dedicated in 2012. It is one of 110 historical markers documented in Denton County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 174 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.2154, -97.1427 near Denton. The nearest cataloged historic site is Lipscomb-Doggett House (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Rayzor-Graham House, Evers House, and Scripture - Deavenport House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5507017263. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.