Jacksonville, Cherokee County
The Rev. John Madison Newburn (1868-1926), a native of Mississippi, came to Jacksonville from Neches, Texas, in the winter of 1896 to assume the pastorate of the First Baptist Church. He and his wife Lula purchased property on this site in 1901 from F. A. Fuller and R. B. Longmire. Built in 1903, this house is a late example of a Victorian residence with transitional classical revival elements, including a two-story balustraded porch and four ornamental gables. The Newburn family formed close ties with Jacksonville College and other family and friends in the community. When housing facilities were limited at the school, the Newburn home served as a dormitory. Two Jacksonville College presidents, the Rev. J. V. Vermillion and Deacon B. J. Albritton, were among those who penned a special memorial record of Newburn's work with the First Baptist Church after his death. The Rev. Mr. Newburn had served 22 years as pastor. In 1928, after a fire destroyed the small Newburn Hospital owned and operated by J. M. Newburn's brother, C. L. Newburn, M. D., Lula Newburn offered her home to serve as a temporary hospital until a new facility was erected five months later. The home was owned and occupied by Newburn heirs until it was purchased by Dallas and Thelma Rawlinson in 1945. In later years the home served as a day care facility for area children. The house was returned to the friends of its first owners in 1994 when it was sold to Jacksonville College. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1998