{"nrhp_refnum":"80004122","name":"Whaley House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"101 E. Whaley St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Longview","county":"Gregg County","state":"TX","lat":32.49765918200006,"lon":-94.73847762099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-05-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-and-a-half story wood frame house at 101 E. Whaley Street in Longview, Gregg County, Texas, built in 1871 for Franklin Lucilius Whaley and expanded over the following decades.","why_significant":"The house was reportedly the fourth built in the newly platted town of Longview and was considered the town's showplace in the 1870s because of its size and Victorian ornamentation. Its builder, F. L. Whaley, was an early hardware merchant, a founder of the First Baptist Church and Longview's mayor in 1891. Gregg County's first court met in the upper story of his hardware store until the courthouse was built in 1876.","narrative":"Built in 1871 on a wooded promontory in the newly platted town of Longview, this one-and-a-half story wood frame house began as four rooms and a central hall. Local tradition names it the fourth house in town. Within a year or two, projecting end pavilions, additional chimneys and a cellar were added, and a jigsawn porch balustrade followed. Around 1900 the kitchen was brought into the house, and a 1920s remodeling replaced the porch columns and steps. Its builder, Franklin Lucilius Whaley, was a hardware merchant, a founder of the First Baptist Church and Longview's mayor in 1891. He kept a bedroom as a preacher's room for circuit-riding ministers, and the county's first court met above his hardware store until the courthouse opened in 1876. In the 1870s the house was the town's showplace. Whaley's descendants lived there until 1979, and a law firm now plans to restore its exterior.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Franklin Lucilius Whaley (builder, for his family)","architectural_style":"Greek Revival or transitional Symmetrical Victorian cottage","criteria":[],"status_note":"Descendants of the Whaley family lived in the house until June 1979, when a law firm bought it. The firm plans to restore the exterior to its nineteenth century appearance and use the interior as law offices. Condition is listed as good and altered.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.699355-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/91/9721/40972191/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/80004122.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004122/436bea06a0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004122/436bea06a0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Tom Reedy","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whaley_House_southeast.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Tom Reedy</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:Whaley_House_southeast.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972191","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107321500"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/gregg-county/whaley-house-80004122/"}