Contact Information
P O Box 1859
Fulton, TX 78358
361-729-0386
Fulton Mansion State Historical Park is 2.3 acres in Aransas County northeast of Corpus Christi. This park was acquired by purchase from private owners in 1976 and was opened to the public in 1983. The Fulton Mansion overlooks Aransas Bay in the resort towns of Rockport-Fulton. Built in 1874 - 1877, the French Second Empire, three-story, wooden mansion with its mansard roof must have appeared other-worldly rising from the flat terrain of a sparsely populated Live Oak Peninsula. With its unusual architecture and stylish interiors, the mansion displayed the exceptional talents and tastes of its builders, Colonel George Ware Fulton and Harriet Gillette Smith.
The Fulton Mansion is one of the few surviving examples of a high-style Victorian suburban villa in Texas. As the home of entrepreneur, engineer, inventor, and rancher George Ware Fulton and his wife Harriet, it is one of the most visible reminders of the heyday of the cattle barons of South Texas.
The design of the Fulton Mansion has been attributed to three sources. One tradition has it that George Fulton was the architect. As an engineer, he was experienced in construction. He was probably responsible for the choice of the progressive design and systems of the mansion, as well as for the method of construction. Fulton was interested in technological advances of all sorts and incorporated the most up-to-date equipment in his home. Another source indicates that the home's design was taken from a book. Finally, the argument has been made that New Orleans architect George Purves, the supplier of all the lumber for the project, was the designer of the mansion.
It was at the height of his success that George Fulton began planning his mansion. The three-story house was built between 1874 and 1877. It is raised five feet above grade over a one-story, full basement which housed the kitchen, food storage, laundry, and other household support facilities. The basement walls are formed of poured shellcrete, with a scored ashlar block appearance. Rising above the basement, a square, three-and-one-half story tower dominates the exterior composition of the mansion. This tower and the horizontal line of the front gallery/conservatory roof assist in uniting the commanding, three-story, bay windowed facades of the identical south and east elevations. Two similar, yet smaller, two-story bay windows are found on the north elevation and accentuate its three bay rhythm. This rhythm is carried over on the west elevation, but is partially obscured by the presence of a first floor rear gallery. Dormer windows are located around and project out from an ornamental slate mansard roof which covers the entire third floor and the upper tower rooms.
The upper three stories of the mansion are constructed of horizontally laid pine planks, spiked together to form solid, laminated, structural walls. The floors are constructed in the same manner and are, in effect, like vertical walls laid horizontally. The exterior walls are clad with vertical cypress siding. The interior wall faces and ceilings are finished with plaster over cypress lath.
The first floor contains the major family and public spaces: the vestibule, conservatory, parlor, library, and dining room. The upper two floors are laid out with six bed chambers and two bathrooms. Notable interior features and finishes include: finely articulated plaster cornice moldings and ceiling medallions, wood and patterned-tile floors, faux-grained slate mantles, two wood-framed over mantle mirrors, ironstone and marble lavatories, brass fittings, and elegantly molded and paneled woodwork of varnished black walnut and cypress. A central ventilation shaft, hot air heating system, dumbwaiter, clothes drying apparatus, food chilling troughs, and gas and plumbing systems were incorporated into the mansion.
The Fulton Mansion was one of the earliest French Second Empire buildings constructed in Texas. It was one of the very few to embody virtually all of the major characteristics of the Second Empire style. While numerous Second Empire villas similar to the Fulton Mansion may be found in other parts of the United States, its classic design coupled with its unusual construction and technologically advanced systems make it one of the most significant Second Empire residences not extant in the Southwest.
Guided tours are conducted; please call ahead for specific tour times and fees. Visitors are requested to wear flat, soft-soled shoes to prevent damage to carpets and floors. The first floor is accessible to the disabled. Groups of 10 or more are requested to make reservations at least one month in advance of their visit. Tours begin at 9 a.m. and continue on the hour until 3 p.m. Reservations must be made for groups of 10 or larger. Please call the park directly. Tour fees apply.
The park is open Wednesday through Sunday; closed Monday and Tuesday, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day.
The main attraction of the park is historical study and an interesting and enjoyable tour.
Other nearby attractions include Goose Island, Mustang Island, and Lake Corpus Christi State Parks; Goliad State Historical Park; Connie Hager Bird Sanctuary; an extensive artist community; Texas Maritime Museum; Rockport/Fulton Art Center; the Copano Bay Fishing Pier; Aransas and Welder Wildlife Refuge; the annual Hummer Bird Festival; and the City of Corpus Christi. Visit the Rockport-Fulton Chamber of Commerce pages.
For more details, call the park or Park Information at 1-800-792-1112.
Historical study and picnicking.
Fulton Mansion State Historical Park is located at an elevation of 5 feet. Temperatures within the park range from an average January minimum of 45 degrees and an average July maximum of 92 degrees with winter average highs in the 70s. The average annual rainfall is 36.9 inches. Current weather conditions can vary from day to day. For more details, call the park or Park Information at 1-800-792-1112.
