{"nrhp_refnum":"84001860","name":"Fort Street Presbyterian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"516 W. Hopkins St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Marcos","county":"Hays County","state":"TX","lat":29.881888727000046,"lon":-97.94670979199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small white frame church at 516 West Hopkins Street (formerly Fort Street) in San Marcos, Hays County, Texas, built in 1901 in a vernacular Gothic style with a cruciform plan and two octagonal towers.","why_significant":"The church is described as one of only two San Marcos churches to survive without damaging alterations. Its vernacular but elegant design, with Victorian-period detail inside and out, is credited to local craftsmen. It also housed three different denominations over its years of service. The reviewer called it a locally significant example of a vernacular Gothic Revival religious structure.","narrative":"Built in 1901 at 516 West Hopkins Street in San Marcos, this modest white frame church combines vernacular Gothic design with a cruciform plan and two octagonal towers topped by steep pyramidal metal roofs. Multipaned Gothic windows in rose, turquoise, gold and green glass, decorative shingle bands, and curved pews give the interior and exterior a Victorian character. Samuel Blue Bales and John Cape are said to have been the contractors, and the work is credited to local craftsmen. The building began as a Cumberland Presbyterian sanctuary, replacing an earlier church that burned. It later served a federated Presbyterian congregation, then the First American Lutheran Church from 1940, and the First Pentecostal Holiness Church after 1969. A 1949 education wing was added at the rear. It was recognized as one of only two San Marcos churches to survive without damaging alterations. At the time of nomination it stood vacant.","period_of_significance":"1880-1899, 1900-","architect_builder":"Samuel Blue Bales and John Cape, builders","architectural_style":"Vernacular Gothic","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Condition is fair and the building is altered but on its original site. It is unoccupied and vacant, and ownership was unclear at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.741999-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/9695/40969513/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001860.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001860/51267b477e-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001860/51267b477e-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fort_street_presbyterian_church_2012.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:Fort_street_presbyterian_church_2012.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969513","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Street_Presbyterian_Church_(San_Marcos,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5472132"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hays-county/fort-street-presbyterian-church-84001860/"}