Whittens is a Greek Revival frame residence built in 1844 by D.D. Jones. Jones owned the house from 1844 until 1869, when it was purchased by Edward W. Upshaw (1825-1878) and his wife, Mary L. Upshaw (1825-1874). Edward Upshaw died in the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1878. In 1875, the house was sold to Wesley J. Marett, who then sold the home in 1878 to H. C. and C. M. Alvis. From 1881 until 1892 the house was owned by John B. Howard.
In 1892, Robert A. McWilliams purchased the house. McWilliams was a former Confederate soldier who served in the Kentucky Duke’s Company Calvary. The McWilliams family owned Whittens for 50 years. In 1943, McWilliams’ daughter Janie McWilliams Lyon sold the house to Opal V. Whitten (1909-1982) and his wife Janie W. Whitten (1914-1989). The Whitten family owned the house from 1943 until 1990. The house is named after the Whitten family, who owned the South Reporter newspaper for many years. The current owners, James R. Thomas and his wife Martha, bought the house in 1990.
Whittens is a traditional, one-story Greek Revival frame residence with a single-bay, pedimented portico supported by paired Tuscan piers. A dentiled cornice surrounds the front of the house. A ruby etched glass transom can be found above the main entrance. The house combines both the traditional “look” of a small Greek Revival home with a long, low English-style basement.
Hill Country History 