{"nrhp_refnum":"79003001","name":"Ragland, R. A., Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"113--117 3rd St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sweetwater","county":"Nolan County","state":"TX","lat":32.471404876000065,"lon":-100.40852217099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-05-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small limestone commercial building at 113-117 Third Street in Sweetwater, Nolan County, Texas, built in 1901 for lawyer R. A. Ragland and enlarged with a second story in 1906.","why_significant":"The nomination presents it as a good example of an early 20th century vernacular commercial building in West Texas and one of the oldest commercial buildings in Sweetwater. It is also tied to R. A. Ragland, one of the town's earliest and most prominent businessmen. It serves as a visual reminder of Sweetwater's early settlement period.","narrative":"Built in 1901 at 113-117 Third Street in Sweetwater, Texas, this limestone commercial building was erected by attorney R. A. Ragland for his law office. The original one-story structure had a six-bay facade divided by stone pilasters, with recessed entrances, transoms and Ragland's name carved in stone at the top. In 1906 Ragland remodeled it, adding a second floor with segmental-arched windows, a stairway entrance from the street and a parapet. Ragland arrived in Sweetwater in 1881, opened the city's first law office and became Nolan County's first county attorney. In 1907 he formed the county's first abstract company with offices in the building. After he sold it in 1909, tenants included a newspaper, law firms, physicians and retail stores. Years of neglect led to condemnation proceedings before new owners restored the exterior to its 1906 look. The building is valued as an early West Texas commercial structure and a link to Sweetwater's settlement period.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early 20th century vernacular commercial building","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as vacant; the owners had recently restored the exterior to its 1906 appearance and rehabilitated the interior, with a local business expected to re-occupy it.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.118884-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/98/9730/40973098/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79003001.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003001/ebd8ddcf75-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003001/ebd8ddcf75-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ragland_Building_Sweetwater_Texas.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:Ragland_Building_Sweetwater_Texas.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973098","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000495"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/nolan-county/ragland-r-a-building-79003001/"}