Demsey Benton Cain House

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Medallion & Plate

Texas Historic Landmark

Geographic: 29.290490, ​-97.155550

Location: 604 West Grand Avenue, Yoakum

Marker Text: Mississippi-born Dempsey Benton "D.B." Cain (1869-1967) came to Texas circa 1880 and arrived in Yoakum in 1894. He married Emily "Emma" Bostick (1875-1918) of Yoakum, and they had five sons. After Emma's death, D.B. married Yoakum schoolteacher Watsie Lea Nowlin (1888-1972). In 1913, D.B. Cain's $8,000 residence on Grand Avenue, likely designed by local architect J. Henry Yentzen, was completed within walking distance of his downtown store. D.B. Cain & Co. was one of the city's largest mercantile businesses. The Classical Revival house features a hipped roof with dormers, a two-story porch supported by square columns, and Craftsman-influenced green slag glass windows. The Cain family lived in this house until 1976. A devout Baptist, D.B. Cain was named Texas Baptist Father of the Year in 1963 at the age of 94. ​(2019)

Marker No: 22649