{"nrhp_refnum":"84001881","name":"Old Rock Saloon","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"58 W. Elm St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hillsboro","county":"Hill County","state":"TX","lat":32.01047873400006,"lon":-97.13059422899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-03-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story, three-bay vernacular commercial building of limestone rubble and cut blocks at 58 W. Elm in Hillsboro, Hill County, Texas, with a cornerstone date of 1876.","why_significant":"It is the only surviving limestone structure in Hillsboro's central business district and is probably the oldest commercial building in the city. It also has a colorful commercial history, including ownership by a later mayor, and was the first building restored under the Texas Main Street Program.","narrative":"Built in 1876, according to its cornerstone, this two-story limestone building at 58 W. Elm in Hillsboro began as a saloon and is probably the oldest commercial structure in the city. It is also the only surviving limestone building in the central business district. The walls are limestone rubble and large cut blocks, partly covered with stucco on the facade. Three upper windows have bracketed hood molds and stone sills, and a gabled roof rises behind a built-up parapet. The saloon once had a bar running the length of the ground floor, a cockfighting pit at the rear and a gambling hall upstairs. J. E. Ballard, who served as mayor from 1889 to 1893, owned it for a time. Later tenants included a confectionery, tailor, pool hall, sewing machine shop and hamburger stand. Restored in 1980-81, it was the first building restored under the Texas Main Street Program and now houses an office.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Vernacular commercial","criteria":[],"status_note":"Restored in 1980-81; condition described as good and used as an insurance and real estate office.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.5062-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/13/9696/40969613/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/84001881.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001881/2ba0ec828f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84001881/2ba0ec828f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Rock_Saloon.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:Old_Rock_Saloon.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969613","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107319715"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/hill-county/old-rock-saloon-84001881/"}