Born in Gibson County, Tennessee, S. W. Tilghman (1846-1913) came in 1870 by wagon train to Wise County. In 1872 he married a Decatur native, Eliza Bland Miller (1856-1931), and became father of a daughter and three sons. A master builder, he erected this house in 1882 for his own family. Many of the city's finer houses of the late 19th and early 20th centuries were built by Tilghman and his son Robert. This Victorian residence has remained in ownership by descendants of the builder. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, 1974.