{"nrhp_refnum":"78002957","name":"Downes-Aldrich House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"206 N. 7th St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Crockett","county":"Houston County","state":"TX","lat":31.319787912000038,"lon":-95.45478492499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-04-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story wooden Victorian house at 206 North Seventh Street in central Crockett, Houston County, Texas, built between 1891 and 1893 for James Elbert Downes, with an octagonal springhouse added in 1893.","why_significant":"The house is a well-preserved late Victorian residence blending Queen Anne and Eastlake styles, with Moorish-influenced details and curly pine interior panelling. It is also tied to J. E. Downes, a merchant involved in the county courthouse effort, and to A. A. Aldrich, a lawyer, legislator, county judge and local historian who bought it in 1911.","narrative":"Set on an elevated lot less than three blocks from the Houston County Courthouse in Crockett, Texas, this two-story wooden Victorian house combines Queen Anne and Eastlake design. Its north facade features deep galleries, an octagonal corner tower with an ogee dome, a bracketed gable and a horseshoe-arched bay with spindle detailing. Interior walls and ceilings on the ground floor are panelled in curly pine. An octagonal springhouse built in 1893 stands behind it. Merchant James Elbert Downes began construction in 1891 and finished in 1893, ordering stained glass and fine millwork. Downes had petitioned for a new courthouse after the Civil War and let the county use the upper floor of his store as a temporary courthouse. In 1911 the house passed to Armistead Albert Aldrich, descended from early county settlers. Aldrich served as county judge and state representative, compiled a county history published in 1943, and helped establish a local museum and historical monuments.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Queen Anne and Eastlake Victorian","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as sound, continuously occupied and maintained since it was built; used as a private residence and nearly unchanged except for an enclosed gallery and screening on the springhouse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.954661-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/20/9726/40972620/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/78002957.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002957/51088b2d83-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002957/51088b2d83-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:DownesAldrichHouse1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</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:DownesAldrichHouse1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972620","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107321612"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/houston-county/downes-aldrich-house-78002957/"}