{"nrhp_refnum":"86001956","name":"Umphress-Taylor House","other_names":["James and Julia Umphress House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"301 Paris St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Van Alstyne","county":"Grayson County","state":"TX","lat":33.41587183000007,"lon":-96.57351026099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story frame house at 301 Paris Street in Van Alstyne, Grayson County, Texas, built in 1903 for James and Julia Umphress on a half-acre corner lot at the town's highest point.","why_significant":"The house is a substantial and largely intact example of a turn-of-the-century residence combining Queen Anne and Colonial Revival elements, with some Shingle Style influence. It is attributed to Scotland-born architect-builder John Tulloch and was built for a locally prominent landowner and banker. The reviewer accepted it under Criterion C and found the case for Criterion B not strong enough.","narrative":"Built in 1903 on a half-acre corner lot at the highest point in Van Alstyne, Texas, this two-and-a-half-story frame house was commissioned by James and Julia Umphress. James Umphress, born in Alabama in 1841, arrived in Van Alstyne in 1890 and became a landowner, banker and community leader. The design is attributed to Scotland-born architect-builder John Tulloch, who also worked on notable buildings elsewhere in Grayson County. The house rests on a cast-stone foundation and combines Queen Anne massing, a polygonal tower and ornamental shingles with Colonial Revival Doric-columned porches. Inside, unpainted woodwork, pocket doors, a three-urn staircase and a built-in china cabinet survive. A neighbor, John Taylor, admired the plans and copied them, though that house burned in the 1920s. The Umphress daughter Maude later married Taylor's son and lived in the house until 1974. Its largely intact condition and its prominence in the town underlie its listing for architecture.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"John Tulloch, attributed","architectural_style":"Queen Anne with Colonial Revival detailing","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Occupied private residence in good condition, with only minor alterations; a rear garage and a recent open shelter are non-contributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.441628-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/9721/40972177/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/86001956.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001956/b798c07ef4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86001956/b798c07ef4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UmphressTaylor1.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:UmphressTaylor1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972177","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000565"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/grayson-county/umphress-taylor-house-86001956/"}