{"nrhp_refnum":"85000349","name":"Smith, John Sterling, Jr., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Chestnut St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chappell Hill","county":"Washington County","state":"TX","lat":30.143248167000024,"lon":-96.25362436199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-02-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1½-story cedar clapboard residence on Chestnut Street in Chappell Hill, Washington County, Texas. The original L-shaped house dates to about 1855, and it was extensively enlarged and altered in 1910.","why_significant":"The house is the only surviving example of its form in the Chappell Hill multiple-resource area. It shows how local houses evolved from a central-hall or dog-trot plan into a popular turn-of-the-century form with Queen Anne detailing. It is also associated with John Sterling Smith, Jr., a prominent businessman, banker and cattle raiser. The form also notes potential for historic archeology.","narrative":"Built about 1855 as a small L-shaped house and remodeled in 1910, this cedar clapboard residence on Chestnut Street in Chappell Hill reflects two eras of local building. The 1910 work produced an asymmetrical 1½-story plan with a wraparound porch on slightly tapered Doric columns, a tall hipped roof, and an octagonal turret with a tent roof. Inside are grained pine flooring, a carved mantelpiece and an open-well stairway with a scroll-carved newel. The house is considered the only surviving example of its form in the Chappell Hill area, showing how older central-hall or dog-trot houses were reshaped into a popular early twentieth-century type with vernacular Queen Anne detailing. It is also tied to John Sterling Smith, Jr., a merchant, bank president and cattle raiser whose success led to the enlargement. The property stayed in one family from 1873 to 1983, and the house has changed little since 1910.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899; 1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Modified Queen Anne elements (vernacular treatment)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Residence in fair physical condition; sold in 1983 and the new owner plans to restore it to its 1910 appearance.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.931668-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/39/9706/40970639/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/85000349.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000349/6d286db91c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/85000349/6d286db91c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_sterling_smith_house_2008.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:John_sterling_smith_house_2008.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970639","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002499"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/washington-county/smith-john-sterling-jr-house-85000349/"}