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‘Most elaborate residence in Fresno.’ Step back in time inside Meux home built in 1888 – MASHAHER

ISLAM GAMAL5 May 2024Last Update :
‘Most elaborate residence in Fresno.’ Step back in time inside Meux home built in 1888 – MASHAHER


Inside Look is a Fresno Bee series where we take readers behind the scenes at restaurants, new businesses, local landmarks and news stories.

It isn’t clear whether Dr. Thomas Meux realized in 1888 that his landmark home would withstand the vagaries of time while so many of its contemporary Fresno structures have fallen to modernization.

But the home at Tulare and R streets remains a singular legacy, long after the destruction of other notable Fresno structures, including the Fresno County Courthouse, felled in 1966.

“Fresno has been notorious for tearing buildings down,” said Robert Archuleta of the Fresno County Historical Society in 1998. “We’ve finally been able to not only save this one, but to restore it as well.”

Visitors who wish to venture back to Fresno’s past are able to tour the Meux Home Friday through Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. for a $10 fee.

Rene Paredes, a docent at the home, said leading tours there allows her to enjoy her passion for history. She teaches history at Lemoore College.

“I love the history, the clothing and the time period,” she said.

“The upstairs is gorgeous,” she added.

Dr. Thomas Meux was a confederate surgeon during the Civil War and moved to Fresno due to his wife’s health where he had their home built at Tulare and R streets in an asymmetrical style that reflects the eclectic French Renaissance and Victorian Gothic architectural tastes of the era.

Dr. Thomas Meux was a confederate surgeon during the Civil War and moved to Fresno due to his wife’s health where he had their home built at Tulare and R streets in an asymmetrical style that reflects the eclectic French Renaissance and Victorian Gothic architectural tastes of the era.

Confederate doctor’s home in Fresno

The Meux Home was built by Dr. Meux, a Tennessean who moved to Fresno after serving as a doctor in the Confederate Army. He believed that the dry Fresno climate would benefit his wife’s deteriorating health. Meux died in 1929, but the home stayed in the family until 1970, when his unmarried daughter Anne died.

A surviving grandson, Fresno attorney Pete Meux, was a longtime resident of the Fresno High neighborhood who died in 2007. Officials say there are no other descendants in the Fresno area.

The home was described as both in the “Eastlake Victorian” style and “Carpenter’s Gothic,” in Fresno Weekly Expositor archives written at the time of its construction.

It remains a monument to an earlier time that allows Fresnans to get a glimpse of that era, as well as a more intimate look at one of the city’s founding families. Inside is the military uniform of Dr. Meux, the wedding gown of his daughter Mary, along with furniture and artifacts of the era.

When it was completed in 1889, the Expositor called it “the most elaborate residence in Fresno,” and noted that it cost $12,000.

That would be $412,000 in 2024 dollars.

A photo of Thomas Meux hangs on a wall of the home he had built in Fresno in 1888. Meux as a surgeon during the Civil War and continued his medical practice in Fresno and became a well-known influence in the medical and agricultural communities.A photo of Thomas Meux hangs on a wall of the home he had built in Fresno in 1888. Meux as a surgeon during the Civil War and continued his medical practice in Fresno and became a well-known influence in the medical and agricultural communities.

A photo of Thomas Meux hangs on a wall of the home he had built in Fresno in 1888. Meux as a surgeon during the Civil War and continued his medical practice in Fresno and became a well-known influence in the medical and agricultural communities.

City of Fresno purchased Meux Home in 1973

Saving the home after the death of the last family member to live there was a close thing.

According to Fresno Bee archives, it was purchased by the City of Fresno in 1973. City building inspector Richard Johnson is credited by Fresno Bee archives as leading the effort, along with the Fresno County Historical Society. The city’s cost in 1973 was $55,000.

Union carpenters reportedly volunteered their labor to the restoration effort, but maintenance is an ongoing process. In 2010, Friends of Meux Home raised abut $20,000 for maintenance, according to The Fresno Bee.

In the aftermath of the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police in 2020, the Fresno Historic Preservation Commission was asked to review the name of the home because of Thomas Meux’s service in the Confederacy.

No decision about a name change was reached, and city officials were not able to determine if any more recent discussions about the topic have taken place.

The Meux Home Museum, now surrounded by modern buildings, parking lots and four-lane roads in downtown Fresno, has stood the test of time after being built by Dr. Thomas Meux on the “outskirts of town” back in 1888.The Meux Home Museum, now surrounded by modern buildings, parking lots and four-lane roads in downtown Fresno, has stood the test of time after being built by Dr. Thomas Meux on the “outskirts of town” back in 1888.

The Meux Home Museum, now surrounded by modern buildings, parking lots and four-lane roads in downtown Fresno, has stood the test of time after being built by Dr. Thomas Meux on the “outskirts of town” back in 1888.

Quintin Hoskins, president and curator of the Meux Home Museum, stands in the front room of the Meux home, restored and furnished to its Victorian beginnings at its location on Tulare and R streets in downtown Fresno.Quintin Hoskins, president and curator of the Meux Home Museum, stands in the front room of the Meux home, restored and furnished to its Victorian beginnings at its location on Tulare and R streets in downtown Fresno.

Quintin Hoskins, president and curator of the Meux Home Museum, stands in the front room of the Meux home, restored and furnished to its Victorian beginnings at its location on Tulare and R streets in downtown Fresno.

Medical books that had belonged to Dr. Thomas Meux sit on a bookshelf at the Meux home in downtown Fresno.Medical books that had belonged to Dr. Thomas Meux sit on a bookshelf at the Meux home in downtown Fresno.

Medical books that had belonged to Dr. Thomas Meux sit on a bookshelf at the Meux home in downtown Fresno.

The Victorian interior of the Meux home features carved woodwork and stained glass windows. The furnishings and decorations have been updated to reflect the late Victorian era. Tours are available Fridays through Sundays.The Victorian interior of the Meux home features carved woodwork and stained glass windows. The furnishings and decorations have been updated to reflect the late Victorian era. Tours are available Fridays through Sundays.

The Victorian interior of the Meux home features carved woodwork and stained glass windows. The furnishings and decorations have been updated to reflect the late Victorian era. Tours are available Fridays through Sundays.

A plaque signifying the Meux home as being on the National Register of Historic Places, which occurred in 1975, sits on the ground just outside the front entrance of the home.A plaque signifying the Meux home as being on the National Register of Historic Places, which occurred in 1975, sits on the ground just outside the front entrance of the home.

A plaque signifying the Meux home as being on the National Register of Historic Places, which occurred in 1975, sits on the ground just outside the front entrance of the home.

A table setting for Easter is displayed in the dining room of the Meux home and includes special dishes for bread rolls and salt.A table setting for Easter is displayed in the dining room of the Meux home and includes special dishes for bread rolls and salt.

A table setting for Easter is displayed in the dining room of the Meux home and includes special dishes for bread rolls and salt.

A baby doll sits in a crib with items used during Victorian times. The crib is said to have been used as recently as the 1990s.A baby doll sits in a crib with items used during Victorian times. The crib is said to have been used as recently as the 1990s.

A baby doll sits in a crib with items used during Victorian times. The crib is said to have been used as recently as the 1990s.

The owner’s bedroom of the Meux home is located on the second floor just below the large conical turret of the exterior.The owner’s bedroom of the Meux home is located on the second floor just below the large conical turret of the exterior.

The owner’s bedroom of the Meux home is located on the second floor just below the large conical turret of the exterior.

An old telephone hangs on the wall of the Meux home along with 1928 Fresno telephone directory that includes Dr. Thomas Meux’s phone number.An old telephone hangs on the wall of the Meux home along with 1928 Fresno telephone directory that includes Dr. Thomas Meux’s phone number.

An old telephone hangs on the wall of the Meux home along with 1928 Fresno telephone directory that includes Dr. Thomas Meux’s phone number.

A pump organ sits in one of the rooms of the Meux Home on Friday, April 26, 2024. Pump organs used air to generate sound.A pump organ sits in one of the rooms of the Meux Home on Friday, April 26, 2024. Pump organs used air to generate sound.

A pump organ sits in one of the rooms of the Meux Home on Friday, April 26, 2024. Pump organs used air to generate sound.

A dress worn by Dr. Meux’s oldest daughter Mary during her wedding in 1906 is displayed in her bedroom on the second floor of the home.A dress worn by Dr. Meux’s oldest daughter Mary during her wedding in 1906 is displayed in her bedroom on the second floor of the home.

A dress worn by Dr. Meux’s oldest daughter Mary during her wedding in 1906 is displayed in her bedroom on the second floor of the home.


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