Scobee Adobe House / Fort Davis Masonic Lodge

Adobe house (left) and adjoining store and lodge hall (right) in 2021

September 2022

The “Scobee Adobe” is an 1884 adobe house, named for later inhabitant, pulp fiction writer Barry Scobee, who lived there from 1945-1977. Situated along the Overland Trail stage route, the structure once served as a post office. In 1906, an abutting, one-story stone bank building was constructed. This building was later purchased by the Fort Davis Masons who, in 1928, added a second story which functioned as a lodge hall through the mid-1970s. The buildings were later donated to Jeff Davis County. Together, these structures tell a long story of Fort Davis’s important role as a county seat, its location on important trade and transportation routes, and its architectural evolution.

UPDATE: In 2022, the vacant and long-neglected buildings were purchased by Julie and Bruce Webb, owners of popular folk art gallery, Webb Gallery in Waxahachie. To date, the Webbs have completed rehabilitation of the lodge hall building, which now serves an art gallery called Webb’s Fair and Square. The rehabilitation of the Scobee Adobe house is underway as of 2023.

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ADDRESS: 105 Front Street, Fort Davis (Jeff Davis County)

DESIGNATION: None

STATUS: Saved!

OWNER: Webb’s Fair and Square

RESOURCE TYPE: Residence, Commercial, Institutional

YEAR LISTED: 2021

HONOR AWARD: 2023