{"nrhp_refnum":"85001616","name":"Baker, Charles H. and Catherine B., House","other_names":["Pettus House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"401 S. Commercial St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Goliad","county":"Goliad County","state":"TX","lat":28.661007288000064,"lon":-97.39413340599998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1985-07-25","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick house at 401 South Commercial Street in Goliad, Goliad County, Texas, built in 1902 for Charles H. and Catherine B. Baker, on 3.69 acres with a brick milkhouse and the remains of a barn.","why_significant":"The house combines Victorian Gothic and Eastlake features, including carved vergeboards and three double porches with spiraled columns and spindlework. It was built for C. H. Baker, a local druggist, postmaster, farmer and rancher, using brick made at a kiln on his own land. It is one of few large masonry houses of its period in Goliad that has not been greatly altered.","narrative":"Built in 1902, this two-story brick house on South Commercial Street in Goliad was the homestead of Charles H. Baker and Catherine B. Baker. Baker, a native of Victoria, Canada, came to Goliad in 1870, opened Baker Drug Store on the courthouse square, served as postmaster and also farmed and ranched. The L-plan house replaced a frame house that burned. Its bricks were made at a kiln on Baker's land just south of the property. The house blends Victorian Gothic and Eastlake features, notably carved vergeboards, pointed Gothic gable windows, fish-scale siding and three double porches with spiraled columns and spindlework. A brick milkhouse with decorative metal cresting and the remains of a barn stand to the east. Despite 1950s apartment conversion and some enclosed porches, the exterior largely retains its original look. It was listed for its architectural distinction and its link to a prominent local entrepreneur.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian Gothic with Eastlake detailing","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied; converted to apartments in the 1950s. The north and south porches have been enclosed, and the barn is described by a reviewer as now in ruins.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.101183-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/27/9721/40972127/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/85001616.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972127","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002071"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/goliad-county/baker-charles-h-and-catherine-b-house-85001616/"}