{"nrhp_refnum":"01001264","name":"President's House","other_names":["Texas A&amp","M University-Commerce Heritage House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"SW of Circle Dr., N of Stonewall St., bet. Campbell and Bois D'Arc Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Commerce","county":"Hunt County","state":"TX","lat":33.24258854100003,"lon":-95.90523419199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2001-11-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Georgian Revival brick-faced frame house on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce (formerly East Texas State Teachers College) in Commerce, Hunt County, Texas, built in 1927 as the president's residence.","why_significant":"It is nominated under Criterion A for its association with the history of the university in the area of education, as the president's house the state finally funded during President Samuel Whitley's tenure. It is also nominated under Criterion C as an excellent local example of Georgian Revival architecture. The exterior remains essentially unchanged and retains a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1927 on the campus of what was then East Texas State Teachers College, this two-story Georgian Revival house served as the home of the college president. Its frame structure is faced in red brick and features a square entry porch with paired Doric demicolumns, an iron balustrade on the porch roof, and a porte cochere on the east side. The state legislature appropriated $15,000 for the house after years of argument that other Texas state institutions already provided homes for their presidents. Architects George Lindsey and Roy Kilmer of Greenville designed it, and President Samuel Whitley's family moved in on December 27, 1927. The exterior remains essentially unchanged, and the original windows survive. A 1993-94 rehabilitation added a ramp and an elevator, and the former bedrooms became offices. Today the building, known as the Heritage House, receives visitors and alumni. It was listed for its role in the university's history and as a local example of Georgian Revival design.","period_of_significance":"1927-1951","architect_builder":"George Lindsey & Roy Kilmer, architects","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Georgian Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"In good condition after a 1993-94 rehabilitation; now used as a reception and office building and no longer a residence for the sitting president.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.918905-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/9726/40972638/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/01001264.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001264/bb7a6db4c6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/01001264/bb7a6db4c6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Michael Barera","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_A%26M_University%E2%80%93Commerce_March_2017_02_(Heritage_House).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Barera</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Texas_A%26M_University%E2%80%93Commerce_March_2017_02_(Heritage_House).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972638","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001227"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hunt-county/presidents-house-01001264/"}