John P. King sewed several terms as county clerk, was director of Fort Worth National Bank and Fort Worth Power and Light Co., in 1898 organized Southern Ice and Cold Storage Co., and founded King Candy Co. in 1906. In 1927, King purchased a lot on the west side of River Crest Country Club and commissioned architect John F. Staub to design his residence. Staub’s two-story house design features a symmetrically composed five-bay facade in his version of the Federal style. On the east front, four tall Ionic pilasters alternate with full-length fanlit windows and a central fanlit double door below a broken-bed pediment. A scalloped fillet molding embellishes the cornice, which encircles the east and south elevations; to the south, a tall porte-cochere supported by Ionic columns crosses the drive. Unlike many River Crest houses, the King House, as designed by Staub, originally had a painted brick surface. Though the paint has been allowed to wear revealing the brick, the house is in excellent condition. Following documentation of the building’s integrity, it may be eligible for the National Register. The house served as the 1982 Designers Showhouse sponsored by the Historic Preservation Council for Tarrant County.
