Hamshire House stands on land patented to William H. Smith, who died at the Alamo. Built in 1859 by A. Mobray for Emil Broussard, it is of Louisiana Cypress style and is typical of ranches of its time. Emil Broussard sold it to Eloi and Azema Broussard, and their son J.E. Broussard grew up here and later built the first rice mill in Texas. After she was widowed, Azema married Lovan Hamshire, and they donated land for the area's first Catholic Church. Few changes have been made in the house since it was first built.