814 S 4th St
Waco, TX 76706, USA

Earle-Napier-Kinnard House (1858 - 1869)

814 S. 4th St. Waco, TX 76706

In 1855, John Baylis Earle moved to Waco from Alabama and began construction on a one story house containing two rooms in 1858. At the time, it was one of the earliest brick homes of Waco. Mr. Earle briefly served in the Confederate Army, but left due to his poor eyesight. In 1866, Earle moved his family to East Waco. In 1868, after the Civil War, Dr. John Smith Napier, Sr. sold his plantation in Alabama and moved to Waco. The Napier Family completed the two story Greek-Revival style structure that exists today. Dr. Napier's daughter, Sarah, married Reverend David C. Kinnard, Jr. and the two moved into the home subsequently inheriting it. The Reverend and Mrs. Kinnard continued to reside in the house with their three children. The last two residents in the house were Miss Mary Kinnard and Miss Kate Kinnard. To support themselves, they moved in solely in the downstairs part of the home while renting upstairs to Baylor University students. Although the house changed hands multiple times throughout the course of history, many elements of the home are original including the ceiling lamp in the entrance hall and the Lincoln rocking chair located in the South Parlor.

Photo courtesy of Historic Waco

Earle - Napier - Kinnard House Museum

Directory of Historic House Museums in the United States
By Patricia Chambers Walker and Thomas Graham
2000

Earle - Napier - Kinnard House Museum
814 S. Fourth St., Waco, TX
V: 1,646
B: 1858 Addition, Carriage house and playhouse: 1869

Narrative:
The original one-story portion of the house was built by John Baylis Earle, who started the first cotton mill west of the Mississippi to manufacture Confederate Army uniforms. Also owned by the wealthy planter John Smith Napier. Napier's daughter married Presbyterian minister David Kinnard.