Anna Safley Houston has one of those stories so uncommon and bewitching, it’s almost hard to believe. And, sometimes, separating fact from folktale is essentially impossible, but — as with most amazing adventures — that’s part of the allure.

By some accounts, Houston was a passionate, generous, independent, tough woman with a good sense of humor + kindness toward children. By others, she was an eccentric con-artist who didn’t like children and often failed to pay her debts.

By most accounts, she was a self-educated, self-made innovator and entrepreneur who had a singular vision that resulted in one of the most magnificent antique collections in the world. And she did it all during a time when a woman being a self-reliant businessperson was radical.

Timeline

1876: Anna is born.
1885: Anna is nine years old and spends time making vases from broken glass.
1889: Anna is 13, and starts taking care of her 10 younger siblings when her mother dies.
1890s: Anna starts a job as a women’s clothing buyer for Marshall Field in Chicago + Macy’s in New York. She also had a job as one of the Sutherland Sisters, a group of women who made money by washing their hair in public to advertise hair tonic.
1897: Anna is 21 and gets married for the first time.
1904: Anna, 28, settles in Chattanooga to start her collection.
1940s: Anna moves to East Ridge. Note: She also owned properties on McCallie Avenue for a time.
1949: Anna starts a non-profit.
1951: Anna dies after a decade of ill health.
1961: Anna’s collection gets a temporary museum in the Bluff View Art District.
1968: The Houston Museum relocated to 201 High St., where it remains today.

Her work

Anna loved to travel, and she crossed the country to collect what she called “her pretties.”

When she was in her 60s, passersby regularly saw her trudging down McCallie Avenue with a bundle under her arm and another one hanging from the end of a long pole. To carry everything such a long distance, she’d set one bundle down and walk as far as she could while still keeping it in sight. Then she’d set down the ones she was carrying and go back to get the one she left behind. She repeated this the entire way.
By 1947, Anna was 70 years old and had collected 10,000 antique pitchers. A newspaper clipping from that time recounts how Anna and a “bucket brigade of women” from her neighborhood put out a fire that ultimately destroyed 500 pitchers.
This was the lead: “The savage god of fire struck a low blow yesterday morning in attempting to devour the fabulous collection of antique pitchers to which Mrs. Anna S. Houston of Wentworth Road in East Ridge has devoted her life.”

The article went on to describe a feat that today seems nearly insurmountable — putting out a house fire with pails of water.

“My first impulse was to throw myself into the middle of it. I thought that if the pitchers were gone, I may as well go with them.” – Anna Safley Houston, 1947

Instead, she ran into the yard, screaming for help. She and her neighbors used Anna’s own collectibles to fill with water to extinguish the fire.Imagine doing this at all, then imagine doing it at 70 years old.

Her husbands

Anna had 9 or 10 husbands — the early records are unclear. And it doesn’t seem she focused much on the men she married. Some were thought to be marriages of convenience.

For example, she said she stayed married to one man because he was a plumber, and she needed a plumber.

After nearly every divorce, Anna had her maiden name restored. But after getting divorced from her ninth husband, she requested that her name be restored to Houston from her eighth marriage to James W. Houston. It’s not clear why she wanted to keep that name.

Her legacy

Anna's friend and journalist Louise Fort estimated Anna had as many as 50 different collections, from stamps and coins to antique furniture and guns.
There were several failed attempts to get her items into a museum before it actually happened.
Members of the community helped make Anna’s museum dream a reality. This includes women who helped move Anna’s items out of her original warehouse to more suitable storage. They worked four days a week for two years on the task.
Another major player in making the museum happen was lawyer Blaine Buchanan, who was the first president of the museum and worked for many years to preserve the collection.
Ultimately, her legacy is one of grit and generosity because she wanted the city to benefit from her years of collecting.
The collection she left behind is dubbed the best in the world.

Today

The Houston Museum of Decorative Arts has been closed since March 2024 for renovations, including a new elevator and other upgrades to make the 1890s building ADA-compliant. The project also adds a new gallery, more storage, electrical and structural upgrades, and a conservatory-style classroom. The museum is expected to reopen in late summer or early fall. When we learn a reopening date, you'll be the first to know.

Editor's Note: Sarah Dickson also contributed to this story.