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The old F. W. Bates - H. D. Sheppard home, which has been designated by the DeWitt County Commissioners Court as the DeWitt County Historical Museum, was erected by the late F. W. Bates in October-November 1886. The land was purchased from the Cuero Land and Immigration Company.

Mr. Bates' wife was the former Elizabeth Sheppard of Indianola, Texas, and her two brothers, Joseph and Henry Sheppard, left homeless and motherless by the great hurricane of August 20, 1886, assisted in construction of the Bates home. Further, together with Mr. Bates, the two Sheppard boys returned to Indianola, collected lumber from the remains of the Sheppard home, and brought the lumber to Cuero, where it was incorporated into the Bates home. Other material for the house was purchased from H. J. Huck and Co. in the amount of $383.50.

The house was remodeled in 1925 with the addition of an upstairs bedroom and two indoor bathrooms. The present kitchen was also added at that time. Prior to 1925, the single bathroom had been situated in a separate building connected by an extension of the open porch to the main house. One chimney served the kitchen cook stove, the coal stove in the dining room, and the wood stove in an upstairs bedroom. The rest of the rooms, including the living room and other bedrooms, were unheated. The house became a County Museum in 1973.

Outbuildings included a large barn on the lots where the former Stratton Hospital now stands, a three-room storage house, and a large chicken coop where the poultry for Sunday family dinners was kept. These outbuildings were removed in 1951. A one-car garage was added in late 1920 and has since been removed. The house was sold by the family in 1968. An authentic log cabin ca. 1865 was placed on the Museum gorunds in 1968.