{"nrhp_refnum":"72001376","name":"Browning, W. W., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S of Chappell Hill near jct. of U.S. 290 and FM 1155","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chappell Hill","county":"Washington County","state":"TX","lat":30.126465800000062,"lon":-96.25761717199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-01-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story raised Greek Revival plantation house on about 3 acres, 3/5 mile south of the Highway 290 and FM 1155 intersection at Chappell Hill, Washington County, Texas. It appears to have been completed in 1858 for planter W. W. Browning.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the house as one of the most impressive Greek Revival residences built by prosperous planters around Chappell Hill in the 1840s and 1850s. Its massive timber frame and very fine interior and exterior detailing show superior design quality. It is also tied to Colonel William Westcott Browning, a successful planter and supporter of the Chappell Hill Male and Female Institute.","narrative":"Built around 1858 near Chappell Hill in Washington County, Texas, this plantation house was home to Colonel William Westcott Browning, a South Carolina-born planter and early settler. The two-story raised frame house is a large, nearly square Greek Revival block under a hipped roof with a flat central deck. Family tradition says the first framing blew down in a storm, so Browning rebuilt with heavy timbers, mortised and pegged. A two-story portico shelters a broad double-door entrance with sidelights and a divided transom, and a two-story gallery runs across the rear. Four nearly square rooms flank the central hall on each floor. Its size and roof line recall Virginia Georgian houses, while the detailing is fine and delicate. Chappell Hill was a prosperous agricultural and Methodist center, and Browning supported its institute. Though in poor repair and unoccupied when documented, the house still appeared sound and showed the quality of its design.","period_of_significance":"1858","architect_builder":"W. W. Browning (builder-owner); blinds made by H. Journeay of Galveston","architectural_style":"Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as deteriorated and unoccupied, though the structure still appears sound; the plantation has remained in the family.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.627928-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/10/9739/40973910/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/72001376.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001376/abc12f2aa1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/72001376/abc12f2aa1-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":null,"credit_html":"Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historic_American_Buildings_Survey,_Harry_L._Starnes,_Photographer_May_18,_1936_REAR_ELEVATION._-_Colonel_William_W._Browning_House,_Farm_Roads_1155_and_1371,_Chappell_Hill,_HABS_TEX,239-CHAP,2-2.tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973910","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002497"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/washington-county/browning-w-w-house-72001376/"}