A northerly example of the Gulf Coast cottage type, this end-gable-with-inset-porch is common to the Gulf Coast and based on Creole influence. While the house’s hall-and-parlor plan reflects Anglo-American house types, it is similar to hall-less Creole plans. An internal spiral stair leads to the lofts, and end chimneys have fireplaces in the two front rooms. Refinements over time include square, tapered porch posts.
The house, the second oldest building in Nacogdoches, was begun c. 1809 here near the intersection of El Camino Real and La Calle del Norte (North Street) by Andres de Acosta, one of Gil Y’Barbo’s settlers. Joseph Durst, the second owner of the property and alcalde (mayor) of Nacogdoches, may have enlarged the structure into the Creole type. The house was in the Taylor family from 1870 to 1989, when it was acquired and restored by the city. The museum has added buildings to represent a functioning homestead of the time, including a smokehouse, blacksmith shop, chicken coop, gardens, and an exhibit about the eleven house owners and site archaeology.