William G. Swenson was one of the prime movers in the early-twentieth-century development of Abilene, involved in banking, railroads, real estate, and civic improvements. He designed this two-story wooden house in collaboration with architect Preston. A remodeling in 1928 added brick veneer and Spanish style features, including a red tile roof, a front dormer, and windows above the entrance porch based on Mission San José in San Antonio. The original elliptical dining room, grand staircase set in a two-story entrance hall, finishes, and stained glass windows are intact. Swenson’s fifty-eight-acre site has been reduced to two acres, but the two-story garage and servants’ quarters remain. Swenson descendants donated the house to the Abilene Preservation League in 1991, making it available for weddings, parties, and meetings.