Preserved in Time added a second project to its portfolio on May 3, 2010 when a contract was signed for the acquisition of the Ross S. Sterling Mansion. The Sterling mansion is located in Morgan’s Point, close to La Porte, Texas. The mansion is currently listed on the National Registry of Historic Places and is listed as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark. It was listed on the National Register in 1982.

Ross S. Sterling began planning and constructing the stately Georgian Revival mansion in 1924. Designed by architect Alfred C. Finn, also noted for his work on the nearby San Jacinto Monument, the 21,000 square foot structure was completed in 1927. Reportedly the largest residence in Texas when it was completed, the Sterling Mansion replicated the façade of the nation’s presidential home, but at two-fifths the size. According to legend, Ross Sterling pulled out a $20.00 bill, pointed at the image of the Washington, D.C. white house on the reverse, and said to Albert Finn, “…make it look like that.”  Upon completion the mansion boasted 34 rooms including a ballroom, wine cellar, sunroof, and rooms for billiards and bowling. Tiffany chandeliers, maple floors, and gold and silver sconces adorned its interior. It was plumbed with solid bronze pipes which serviced 15 bathrooms. Nine of the 15 bathrooms accompanied the 9 bedrooms. The dining room seated 300 guests and accommodated extravagant parties which entertained politicians and “high” society. The exterior was constructed of 12 inch thick Texas limestone. In 1946 Sterling and his wife donated the mansion to charity. It was used as a boy’s home by the Houston Optimist Club until 1961. An NBC mini-series, A Woman of Independent Means, starred Sally Field and was filmed in the mansion during the summer of 1995.
 
Ross S. Sterling was born near Anahuac, Texas in 1875. He farmed until 1903, when he opened a feed store in Sour Lake. His road to fortune started in 1910 when he purchased two oil wells which later became the Humble Oil and Refining Company (Exxon). Ross Sterling died in Fort Worth, Texas on March 25, 1949. Prior to his death, Ross Sterling had owned 1 railroad company, 2 oil companies, and had purchased two newspapers. He bought the Houston Dispatch and the Houston Post. Among many other civic duties, Ross Shaw Sterling served as chairman of the Texas Highway Commission, president of the American Maid Flour Mills, and served as chairman of both the Houston National Bank and the Houston-Harris County Channel Navigation Board. He was the governor of Texas from 1931 - 1933.