{"nrhp_refnum":"73001960","name":"Mayfield Dugout","other_names":["41 Bi 52"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"7 mi. NW of Silverton","address_restricted":false,"city":"Silverton","county":"Briscoe County","state":"TX","lat":34.508282172000065,"lon":-101.42424591899999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-06-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A half-dugout dwelling built in 1889 into the bank of a draw along a tributary of Rock Creek, about seven miles west-northwest of Silverton in Briscoe County, Texas, on a private ranch.","why_significant":"It is a well-preserved example of the dugout shelters once common on the Texas plains, built in response to scarce timber and harsh weather. A 1970 survey found only two other examples in the area, both ruined, and the Mayfield Dugout remains in its original setting.","narrative":"Built in 1889, this half-dugout sits in the bank of a draw along a tributary of Rock Creek, roughly seven miles west-northwest of Silverton in Briscoe County. Construction began by digging a pit into the slope and lining its walls with rock. Horizontally laid logs formed the upper part of the walls, and mud plaster covered the interior stone and the chinked log sections. Three long beams sunk into the bank, with a central post, support a roof of logs covered in sod. The room measures about 15 by 20 feet, with a ceiling 8 to 9 feet high and a flue at the rear. Settlers chose this form because timber was scarce and the weather was unpredictable and often violent. The dugout was lived in, then preserved, by the family that built it, and two local ranchers were born there. A 1970 survey found only two other examples, both ruined. Other dugouts have been moved or reconstructed at museums, while this one remains in its original setting.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1889)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Half-dugout (broken country type dugout)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as excellent and unaltered, on its original site; used for agriculture. It was lived in and then preserved by the family that built it.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.580064-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/97/9713/40971397/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/73001960.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971397","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayfield_Dugout","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6797170"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/briscoe-county/mayfield-dugout-73001960/"}