Pompeiian Villa

The last remaining landmark of the "dream city" planned by the founder of Port Arthur, railroad magnate Arthur E. Stilwell (1859-1928). The house was built in 1900 as the winter resort home of Isaac L. Ellwood (1833-1910), the developer of barbed wire. The same year financier John W. "Bet-A-Million" Gates (1855-1911) had a mansion built nearby. It was razed in 1960. Ellwood sold the villa in 1901 to James Hopkins of St. Louis, who in 1903 sold it to George M. Craig (1862-1950), principal developer of Port Arthur, for 10 per cent of the Texas Company (present Texaco, Inc.). Craig lived here until his death.

Pompeiian Villa is a historical marker in Port Arthur, Jefferson County, dedicated in 1973. It is one of 109 historical markers documented in Jefferson County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 137 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 29.8825, -93.9223 near Port Arthur. The nearest cataloged historic site is Ellwood-Craig House (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Clubhouse of the Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur, Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur, and Vuylsteke House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5245010553. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.