“There’s a contract on the home by a couple from the United Kingdom,” said Pat Wilson Thomas, a realtor with Elite Real Estate Professionals. “They’re very interested in history, so this is a house that appealed to them.”

Peter and Richard Willis were savvy business professionals who came to the area in 1836, before the town of Montgomery officially existed. They became wealthy via their mercantile store, land speculation and other business interests.

In the 1850s, Montgomery County had one of the largest slave-holding populations in the state, with more than 1,500 slaves, valued at more than $750,000, who worked on plantations growing the major cash crop of the day – cotton, according to Larry Foerster, chairman of the Montgomery County Historical Society.

“Cotton was the dominant crop in western Montgomery County,” said Foerster. “The average land value was $2.30 per acre, with premium land going for $4-10 per acre.”

With his success, Peter Willis employed John Shelton, a prominent builder, to construct his showplace home in Montgomery.

“Sam Houston was a regular visitor and lodger in the home,” said Thomas. “Montgomery was the original county seat, so he was here on a regular basis.”

The Willis brothers were also contemporaries of Charles B. Stewart, designer of the Lone Star flag and another resident of Montgomery.

By 1860, the slave population swelled to more than 2,106, valued at $1.3 million – but the coming Civil War that would free the slaves would devastate the wealth and growth of Montgomery.

While much of Montgomery opposed the Civil War, most of the men and much of the material wealth of the area went into the war effort. Company H of the Fourth Texas Regiment lost half of its men – mostly from Montgomery – at Gettysburg. By the end of the Civil War, only nine of the original 145 members of Company H were survived without being killed or severely wounded.

The conflict also motivated the Willis brothers to pack up and move to Galveston, where their economic success continued. Land they donated to the community from their vast holdings would later become known as Willis in their honor.

“Magnolia Oil Company was named after Willis’ daughter born in Montgomery,” said Foerster. It later became known as Mobil Oil, which eventually merged with Exxon.”

The Montgomery area declined financially after the war. Cotton was replaced with cattle ranches and less successful agricultural enterprises. The large plantations were divided and re-divided to form many of the subdivisions and estates that now exist in Montgomery County.

After the war, the Davis family purchased the Magnolia House, said Thomas. It stayed in the family since they acquired it around the time of the Civil War.

“It’s been in the family since 1866,” said Thomas. “Much of the building is original and many of the artifacts and furnishing date back a long time. It’s a charming, historical building.”

Although the Willis family had relocated to Galveston, their impact on the area continued to be important. Wealthy businessman George Sealy – who married Magnolia Willis – is a key investor in the Central and Montgomery Railroad, running between Navasota and Montgomery. The railroad would eventually expand to Conroe in 1885 with a fast train known as “The Flyer,” with twice daily service.

Anna Landrum Davis Weisinger, “Aunt Anna,” as she was affectionately known to Montgomery locals, lived in the Magnolia home until her death in 2005 at the age of 97.

Weisinger was born in the home and she later married Raymond Weisinger and spent many years updating the historic home.

According to Montgomery historian Sonya Clover, the home was in pretty bad shape when Weisinger and her husband took it over the 50s. Clover said they’d take out a loan and fix one part, then take out another loan and fix another part.

Over her lifetime, Anna Davis Weisinger made many improvements to the home. She lived there most of her life until her death at age 97 in 2005.

Eventually the home was restored to its grandeur and was the first to boast a historic medallion in Montgomery.

Many of the original furnishing remain in the home, having come up from Galveston on a wagon.

She was also a noted historian for the Montgomery area and loved to share stories about the town’s early history.

“If you wanted to know something about Montgomery, you went to Miss Anna or Bessie Owen or Cissy Boulware,” Clover said. “I sat around her (Weisinger’s) kitchen table many times as she told her stories.”

The last relative of the Davis family to live in Magnolia was Betty McKenzie, Anna Davis Weisinger’s niece. McKenzie passed away in February 2012 and following her death, the home was put up for sale.

“There is so much history in Montgomery County,” said Foerster. “It’s nice to see something from the past continue to be source of pride and perspective in the community.”