{"nrhp_refnum":"75001977","name":"Neese, William, Sr., Homestead","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"TX 237","address_restricted":false,"city":"Warrenton","county":"Fayette County","state":"TX","lat":30.018335612000044,"lon":-96.73170271999999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-02-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story stucco-covered stone residence in the late Greek Revival style at State Highway 237 in Warrenton, Fayette County, Texas, built in 1869-1870 for German immigrant merchant and farmer William Neese, Sr.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is an unusual, somewhat anachronistic German-Texas building, combining late Greek Revival form with a Georgian-like appearance. Its second-floor ballroom and original decorative painting, stenciling, wood graining and marbleizing show a merging of American and Germanic folk arts.","narrative":"Built in 1869-1870 in the small community of Warrenton, Texas, this two-story stucco-covered stone house was erected for William Neese, Sr., a German immigrant merchant and farmer. Its late Greek Revival design features a symmetrical plan, a five-bay east facade and a pedimented double gallery with cast-iron balustrade. Nine-over-six windows of local cedar, quoins and a belt course give it a somewhat Georgian look. A central hall organizes the ground floor, while the upstairs combines several spaces into a thirty-nine by thirty foot ballroom with a polychrome painted ceiling. The interior was listed for its original decorative work, including stenciled walls and ceilings, wood graining that imitates burr oak, and marbleized ballroom doors, which blend American and Germanic folk art. The house has remained essentially unaltered. A ruinous Italianate brick greenhouse and a barn survive on the six-acre site. Plans called for a museum of Texas furniture and cultural events in the ballroom.","period_of_significance":"1869-1870","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Late Greek Revival (with Federal elements)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition listed as good and essentially unaltered; the form lists the use as vacant, with a ruinous brick greenhouse, and plans to use the house as a museum of Texas furniture.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.533935-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/9719/40971952/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/75001977.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001977/8b299e7eeb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001977/8b299e7eeb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_neese_sr_homestead_2008.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:William_neese_sr_homestead_2008.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971952","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002011"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/fayette-county/neese-william-sr-homestead-75001977/"}