Smith-Clark-Smith House
historic place
The Smith-Clark-Smith House is a historic place located in Austin, Travis County, Texas. This residence was built around 1886 by Scottish-born James Baird Smith. Smith played a key role in Austin's development after the State Capitol burned in 1881. He cleared the Capitol site and then erected a temporary statehouse nearby. For this house, Smith utilized salvaged bricks and stone, which likely came from the burned Capitol building. The first tenant of the house was noted banker John G. Palm. Later, Lucille Clark, a member of a prominent Austin family, owned the property starting in 1924 and resided there from 1925 to 1943. In 1959, Mr. and Mrs. Homer D. Smith purchased the house and undertook its restoration. The Smith-Clark-Smith House was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and its historical marker was erected in 1975 by the Texas Historical Commission. This house offers a tangible link to Austin's post-Capitol fire reconstruction era and its notable residents.