By Chuck Lanehart
Editor’s Note: Jack Becker is the editor of Caprock Chronicles and is a Librarian Emeritus from Texas Tech University. He can be reached at jack.becker@ttu.edu. Today’s article about the historic Benson home is the first of a two-part series about historic lawyers’ homes by frequent contributor Chuck Lanehart, Lubbock attorney and award-winning Western history writer.
The first Lubbock attorneys arrived about the time the county was organized, in 1891. Most were “prairie dog lawyers,” who traveled by horse or horse-drawn buggy throughout the South Plains and beyond seeking business. They rarely established formal law offices in Lubbock, and most were gone by the turn of the century.
When more stable attorneys arrived in the early 20th century, they began to develop successful law practices and settled down with their families.
One of these lawyers, W.D. Benson, built a beautiful home in downtown Lubbock. Now, more than a century later, this remarkable 117-year-old structure still stands.
Ironically—and appropriately—Benson’s family home has been converted into law offices.
William D. Benson was born in 1865 in Missouri. His formal education took him through the third grade, and as a young man, he worked as a cowboy, but he aspired to become an attorney.
In 19th century Texas, most lawyers “read law” in an established law office, then appeared before a panel of local lawyers or a judge to undergo a bar examination. Benson bypassed the usual procedure and obtained four volumes of “Blackstone’s Commentaries of the English Law,” which he studied with the aid of a dictionary in his spare time.
In 1900, he appeared for his bar exam before a district judge. However, the judge was unfamiliar with the process.
He confessed he’d never administered a bar examination and didn’t know the proper questions. The judge finally improvised an inquiry. “Mr. Benson, give me the proper definition of ‘habeas corpus.’”
“Your Honor,” Benson began apologetically, “I’m afraid I don’t exactly understand just what ‘habeas corpus’ means.”
With that, the judge declared Benson a duly qualified attorney. “Mr. Benson, I can’t honestly say that I understand what it means either. So, I guess you pass.”
Benson arrived in Lubbock in a covered wagon with his family in 1902 and began his law practice. He was considered the first “modern” lawyer in the village and in 1903 opened the first permanent law office on the south side of the town square, where the Mahon Federal Building now stands. He employed the first stenographer, used the first typewriter and maintained the first law library in town.
He was instrumental in getting the first ice plant established in Lubbock, assisted the Chamber of Commerce in encouraging railroads to run lines into Lubbock and at one time operated an abstract plant in addition to practicing law.
In 1918, Benson moved to Breckinridge for a few years but soon returned to Lubbock until shortly before his death in 1946 at age 81, having practiced law in the city for 40 years.
Benson’s son, W.D. “Dub” Benson Jr., was a noted Lubbock lawyer for many years, and his daughter Floe Swenson served as Lubbock County District Clerk.
His grandson Dan Benson was a prominent civil rights lawyer and professor at Texas Tech University School of Law. A great-grandson and great-great-grandson are lawyers in Colorado.
He built his family home in 1909 at 14th and Avenue K, where Citizen’s Tower/City Hall parking building now stands. Decades ago, the Benson house was moved to its current location, 1511 Ave. M, later converted into student apartments, and was nearly lost during the redevelopment of North Overton. (During my law school years, 1974-1977, my wife Paula and I often visited fellow law students who rented the home, unaware of its significant history.)
After Lubbock criminal defense lawyer Michael King purchased the property in 2024, the two-story home was carefully restored by Heirloom Homes, which preserved many of its original features while blending in modern design touches that reflect the building’s new era. The firm of King Law moved into the restored building in 2025.
King said, “When given the opportunity to purchase and remodel the W.D. Benson house, my wife Angie and I were thrilled to breathe new life into this beautiful historic property by making it the new home of King Law.”
The Benson home is generally Victorian in style, influenced by English medieval architecture, which was reaching its high point in the United States in the 1870s.
According to retired Lubbock architect Michael Martin, “This must have been quite an undertaking in the earliest days of Lubbock’s formation. There are other similar examples of the style which featured projecting attic gable with surrounding porch on the first floor. In the Benson house, there are the characteristic double columns and multi-color exterior. The projecting gable provides more than just a decorative element but allows for a room on the second floor.”
Other local examples of similar architecture include the Barton House (circa 1909) at the Ranching Heritage Center, Texas Tech University, as well as the Tubbs/Revier House, 602 Fulton Avenue (1908).
Part two of this series will be published in next week’s Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Caprock Chronicles explores historic early Lubbock lawyer homes
Reporting by By Chuck Lanehart, special for the Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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By Chuck Lanehart, special for the Avalanche-Journal | USA TODAY Network
