Mason-Foster House

The Fosters bought a four-room frame house in 1905; the showplace came in three rebuilds. In 1915 contractor Martin Brauer replaced the front porch with four two-story columns, and the whole house was stuccoed. In 1918 a thirty-foot dining room went on the back. In 1921 a San Antonio firm, Albaugh and Steinbomer, reworked the interior with Monterrey floor tile that took a year and a half to arrive, Louisiana cypress ceiling beams and chandeliers from Czechoslovakia. Visitors to Del Rio were told they must not miss it.

What the plaque says

Mason-Foster House A native of New York, local businessman James H. Mason (1835-1916) constructed his home here shortly after he purchased the site in 1887. He later developed a spring on the property for mineral baths and a medicinal drink. John J. Foster (1867-1935), a Del Rio attorney and civic leader bought the residence in 1905. During his ownership major additions were made to the home, originally a four-room frame structure. Interior detailing included artwork by Foster's wife Mary (1868-1958). The residence remained in the foster family until 1962. (1980)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Val Verde Winery — steps away
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• Whitehead Memorial Museum — 0.3 mi
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• San Felipe Creek — 1.1 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 9.9 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• Taylor-Rivers House — steps away
• Val Verde Winery — steps away
• Roy Bean C. S. A. — 0.3 mi
• Seminole-Negro Scouts — 0.3 mi