Each year, the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation features a treasured historic building or site in Sugar Land. This year we are proud to present the Ellis-Eldridge House as the 2018 Ornament. These high-quality brass ornaments come individually packaged in a beautiful gift box which includes a printed information card about the ornament.
Littleberry A. Ellis constructed this circa 1870s house on his Sartartia Plantation, acreage now part of the Telfair development. Convict persons built the structure entirely of cypress wood fastened together with wooden pegs instead of nails.
In about 1906, Imperial Sugar Company’s managing partner W. T. Eldridge moved the house to a location immediately southwest of where University Boulevard crosses Oyster Creek today, near Constellation Field. There he resided and managed Imperial Sugar’s interests in its newly-purchased Sartartia Plantation.
After acquiring Colonel Edward H. Cunningham’s mill and refinery two years later in 1908, Eldridge moved it again to a location adjacent to the east side of today’s Imperial Sugar char house where he could keep a close eye on refinery and other company town operations.
Eldridge lived in the house until 1927, when he moved to the mansion he built near the southwest corner of Lakeview Drive and Eldridge Road. The house by the Char House became known as the Imperial Coffee Shoppe. Four years later in 1931, Mrs. Annie Allbritton moved in, sub-renting rooms to various Sugar Landers until 1963 when it was torn down to make room for refinery expansion.
Ornaments are on sale now online. Starting October 1st they will be on sale at the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation office at 198 Kempner Street in Sugar Land during regular Sugar Land Heritage Museum hours. Ornaments will also be on sale at the Farmers Market at Imperial on Saturday December 1, December 8, and December 15 from 10 am to noon. Ornaments are $25 each and all proceeds benefit the Sugar Land Heritage Foundation.