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Historic Buildings and Ranch Homes

Thistle Hill: The Fort Worth Mansion Tied to Two Cattle Families

A Georgian Revival mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue links the Waggoner and Scott cattle fortunes.

What is Thistle Hill?

Thistle Hill is a Georgian Revival mansion at 1509 Pennsylvania Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas, built in 1903 and 1904 in what was then called the Quality Hill neighborhood. It is often described as a cattle baron's mansion, and the label fits for two reasons. The first family to live there was tied to one of Texas's biggest ranching names, and the second was headed by a cattleman-investor.

Historic Fort Worth describes a house of about 11,000 square feet with 18 rooms, designed by the architects Sanguinet and Staats.

Who built Thistle Hill?

Despite its popular name as the Scott mansion, the house was not built for Winfield Scott. It was built in 1903 and 1904 for Albert Buckman Wharton Jr. and his bride Electra Waggoner Wharton, according to the Texas Historical Commission atlas. The Whartons moved in in 1904.

Electra was the daughter of rancher and pioneer cattleman W.T. Waggoner, who lived from 1852 to 1934. She is the one credited with naming the mansion Thistle Hill. The marker record lists the house as Georgian Revival.

How did the Scott family come to own Thistle Hill?

Cattleman-investor Winfield Scott, who lived from 1849 to 1911, bought the house in 1910, according to the Texas Historical Commission. Historic Fort Worth records that Winfield and Elizabeth Scott paid $90,000. The marker record says Winfield Scott died before moving in, and his wife Elizabeth, who lived from 1861 to 1935, lived there until her death.

The architects redesigned the house in 1911, the year Scott died. The sources I could open do not detail Scott's cattle career, so this profile does not describe it.

What happened to Thistle Hill after the Scotts?

The Girls' Service League occupied the house from 1940 to 1968. The Texas Historical Commission records that a group called Save the Scott Home! Inc. purchased the house in 1976, a marker was erected in 1977, and the property is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.

Historic Fort Worth says the mansion was designated in 1978 as the first City of Fort Worth landmark. The Wikipedia entry for the Wharton-Scott House gives the house's formal name. In 2022 Historic Fort Worth transferred stewardship of Thistle Hill to Cook Children's, according to the organization's page.

What Made It Work

Thistle Hill survived because several different owners and groups found it worth keeping. The record is mostly about the house, not the cattle fortunes behind it, so these lessons are about the building.

  • Cattle wealth paid for the original house. The Whartons' link to the Waggoner family explains the resources behind a house of this scale.
  • A second ranching-linked family, the Scotts, bought it in 1910 and kept it in family hands until Elizabeth Scott's death in 1935.
  • Institutional use came next. The Girls' Service League occupied it from 1940 to 1968, which kept the building in use.
  • Citizens organized: Save the Scott Home! Inc. bought it in 1976, and the City recognized it as its first landmark in 1978.
  • Stewardship moved to Cook Children's in 2022, so the house continues under a large local institution.

Cattle money in the city

The sources tie both families to cattle money, and Thistle Hill shows what that wealth could build in a growing Texas city around 1904. For more on ranchers and their world, see farm.FM's ranching section.

Visit or learn more

Thistle Hill stands at 1509 Pennsylvania Avenue. Historic Fort Worth's page and the Texas Historical Commission atlas are the best places to start for visiting information and the marker text. A farm.FM reader can also find a farm.FM story about cattle barons and their houses.

Timeline

  1. 1903Construction begins for A.B. Wharton Jr. and Electra Waggoner Wharton
  2. 1904The Whartons move into the completed house
  3. 1910Winfield and Elizabeth Scott buy the house for $90,000
  4. 1911Winfield Scott dies before moving in; the house is redesigned
  5. 1935Elizabeth Scott dies
  6. 1940The Girls' Service League occupies the house (to 1968)
  7. 1976Save the Scott Home! Inc. purchases the house
  8. 1978Fort Worth designates it the city's first landmark
  9. 2022Historic Fort Worth transfers stewardship to Cook Children's

Frequently asked questions

Who built Thistle Hill?

It was built in 1903 and 1904 for Albert Buckman Wharton Jr. and Electra Waggoner Wharton, daughter of cattleman W.T. Waggoner. Winfield and Elizabeth Scott bought it in 1910.

Where is Thistle Hill?

Thistle Hill is at 1509 Pennsylvania Avenue in Fort Worth, Texas, in the former Quality Hill neighborhood. It is a Georgian Revival mansion of about 11,000 square feet.

Who was Winfield Scott of Thistle Hill?

Winfield Scott (1849 to 1911) was a cattleman-investor who bought the house in 1910 but died before moving in. His wife Elizabeth lived there until she died in 1935.

Is Thistle Hill a historic landmark?

Yes. It is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and was designated in 1978 as the first City of Fort Worth landmark.

Sources and further reading

Profiles are compiled from public sources and reviewed against them. See our editorial policy to suggest a correction.

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