French Home Trading Post
historic place
The French Home Trading Post, located in Beaumont, Jefferson County, is a historic place. It was built in 1845 by John J. French, a merchant and tanner who arrived in Texas in the 1830s from Connecticut and New York. This structure served as both his home and a store, with a tannery operating nearby. Early settlers in the area, sometimes referred to as 'French Town,' would come here to trade goods. They exchanged items like tallow, hides, corn, and beef for necessities such as shoes, harnesses, tanned skins, salt, coffee, tea, cloth, and other everyday items. The home remained with the French family for 95 years, until 1940. In 1968, the Beaumont Junior League purchased the property, and it was later given to the Beaumont Heritage Society. The trading post was restored to its 1845 appearance in 1969. A historical marker was erected in 1970 to commemorate this site. Today, it stands as the oldest fully-restored home in Beaumont, and was notably one of the first two-story houses in the area, constructed with milled and painted lumber. The French Home Trading Post offers a direct link to the early commercial and domestic life of southeast Texas settlers.