The historic site was approved funding for a historical marker at the Montgomery Economic Development Corp.’s April 18 meeting, and the marker application was approved by the Montgomery County Historical Commission at its May 2 meeting. Larry Foerster, chairman of the Montgomery County Historical Commission, said in an email that the Texas Historical Commission will approve or deny the state marker in August. The home’s owner, Kalee Londeen, said the historical marker will preserve the history of the house—built between 1851-53—in a tangible way the public and its next owners can learn from.
Londeen said the house has a rich history, as the home’s original owner, Rev. Thomas Chilton, was Davy Crockett’s roommate and a U.S. representative. Chilton would go on to collaborate in writing Crockett’s autobiography as well as serve as a pastor at First Baptist Church of Montgomery.
A legend also states horse thieves hid out in the house in 1868 but were eventually killed by a posse of men, MEDC President Rebecca Huss said. The thieves were deemed unworthy of being buried in the churchyard, so a new cemetery, the New Montgomery Cemetery, was created.
“We want to preserve some of [the house’s] history, and we want people to know [the history] without having to ask us,” Londeen said in an interview. “It’d be nice to have a historical marker that has some of the key points just to preserve that history.”
Huss said in an interview that along with preserving history, the historical designation will draw tourism.
“[The historical markers] provide a couple of different things. One, there’s a whole tourism industry about the historical markers. People travel specifically based on them,” Huss said. “It also provides ... historical accuracy that’s required in order to get a marker.”
During the April 18 meeting, Huss discussed a map listing 33-35 locations in Montgomery that could be eligible for historical markers, but a budget of $5,000 was allocated and the labor-intensive process and deadlines result in only one to two historical markers a year. With that, the MEDC approved funding the application fee and $2,000 for the physical marker for the Chilton-Dean House.
“I think it’s important for all of the historical houses around here to get markers, and so we’re trying to kind of help encourage everybody to do that ... but it takes a lot of research and a lot of paperwork,” Londeen said.
