{"nrhp_refnum":"79003447","name":"Bridges-Johnson House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off TX 6, SW of Meridian","address_restricted":false,"city":"Meridian","county":"Bosque County","state":"TX","lat":31.91163123800004,"lon":-97.65580001099994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-10-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A double octagon dwelling built around 1860 on a rural site 1.6 miles southwest of Meridian, Bosque County, Texas. It was built by W. H. Bridges using lime concrete walls.","why_significant":"The house is rare in both plan and construction technique. Concrete octagonal rooms flanking a breezeway are described as unique among known extant buildings in Texas. Lime concrete was rare in inland Texas, and this is the only remaining example of three known such structures near Meridian.","narrative":"Set among the rolling hills outside Meridian, this house was built around 1860 and combines two unusual ideas. Its plan follows the dog-trot cabin, with two rooms divided by an open breezeway under one roof, but each room is octagonal rather than rectangular. Every side of each octagon has a door, window or shuttered opening to aid ventilation in the hot climate. The walls are lime concrete poured in forms in layers about twelve inches high, rather than the log construction typical of dog-trot cabins. It is the only survivor of three known buildings of this type near Meridian. Deed records show W. H. Bridges, a physician from Georgia, bought the land in 1861 and sold it in 1862 at a much higher price, suggesting the house was built then. The Johnson family owned it from 1882 until 1965. Later additions include a enclosed central hall and a rear room addition. The property is deteriorated and vacant, and a collapsed south porch is gone.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1861)","architect_builder":"W. H. Bridges","architectural_style":"Octagonal mode adapted to a dog-trot plan","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as unoccupied and vacant, with condition marked deteriorated and altered; the south porch has collapsed.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.906156-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/23/9713/40971323/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79003447.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971323","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001690"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bosque-county/bridges-johnson-house-79003447/"}