{"nrhp_refnum":"71000946","name":"Lay-Bozka House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"205 Fairwinds","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hallettsville","county":"Lavaca County","state":"TX","lat":29.44238083600004,"lon":-96.94655169599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-01-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story residence at 205 Fairwinds in Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas, built from 1878 to 1882 for local doctor James Lay, with a white stuccoed sandstone first story and a red mansard roof.","why_significant":"The house is argued to be a rare surviving example of a patterned-shingle mansard-roofed house, since many such roofs have been replaced. It is notable for its decorative woodwork, including rope moldings, carpenter's lace and bead and spindle trim. It also has an unusual origin story involving a patient named Victor Hugo who is said to have designed it in place of paying his medical bills.","narrative":"Built between 1878 and 1882 on a hill overlooking Hallettsville and the Lavaca River, this two-story house was made for Dr. James Lay. Its first story is white stuccoed sandstone, with walls 18 to 24 inches thick, quarried at Campbell Branch. The upper story is cypress, reportedly ordered from Chicago and hauled to town by ox-cart from Schulenburg. A bright red mansard roof with patterned shingles, arched dormers and white wooden rope molding gives it a birthday-cake look. The porch carries chamfered posts, tall brackets, scroll frieze work and spindle balustrade. Local tradition says a patient named Victor Hugo, unable to pay Lay's fees, offered to design the house instead, and B. J. E. Dietz served as builder. The final cost was $4,750. The house was listed because few mansard roofs of this colorful shingled type survive. Inside, it retains a walnut stairway, slate front steps and four working fireplaces, and it was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1968.","period_of_significance":"1878-1882","architect_builder":"B. J. E. Dietz, builder; design attributed by tradition to Victor Hugo, a patient of Dr. James Lay","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, and used as a private residence. Some restoration was done, a rear porch roof extension was added, and a kitchen was installed in the main part of the house.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.289781-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/19/9728/40972819/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/71000946.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000946/0fa78a6464-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000946/0fa78a6464-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lay-Bozka_House.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">25or6to4</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lay-Bozka_House.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972819","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lay-Bozka_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54871517"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/lavaca-county/lay-bozka-house-71000946/"}