{"nrhp_refnum":"86002336","name":"SMS Building","other_names":["Berry Furniture"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"101 S. Wetherbee and 210 E. McHarg","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stamford","county":"Jones County","state":"TX","lat":32.94507761800003,"lon":-99.80163672499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-09-24","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story commercial and office building with a basement at 101 S. Wetherbee and 210 E. McHarg on the town square in Stamford, Jones County, Texas, built in 1927-1928 for the Swenson Land and Cattle Company (SMS Ranches).","why_significant":"It served for many years as the principal headquarters of the Swenson (SMS) Ranches, one of the great ranching enterprises in Texas, and is considered statewide significant for ranching. It is also an architecturally sophisticated, finely crafted building designed by Nichol and Campbell of Abilene.","narrative":"Built in 1927 and early 1928 on Stamford's town square, this one-story building with a basement housed both a retail space and the local offices of the Swenson Land and Cattle Company, known as the SMS Ranches. It replaced a 1902 land sales office for the Stamford Townsite Company. Abilene architects Nichol and Campbell designed it, and Abilene contractors C.S. and C.B. Oats built it. Construction is of tile with stone veneer from nearby Lueders, and brick on the hidden south side. The glass-fronted retail section faces S. Wetherbee, while the more closed office section faces E. McHarg, with classical stone detailing, Palladian windows and the company name etched in the frieze. The ranch company wanted a durable, impressive structure reflecting its place in the local economy. The building is valued as the principal headquarters of one of Texas's major ranching enterprises and for its restrained, well-crafted design. Later changes include a filled-in retail entry and added storm windows and awnings.","period_of_significance":"1927","architect_builder":"Nichol and Campbell, architects (Abilene); C.S. and C.B. Oats, contractors (Abilene)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as altered but in good condition; it contains the Swenson offices and a retail lease space.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.571066-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/9697/40969754/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/86002336.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002336/e1ed703351-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86002336/e1ed703351-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SMS_Building1_(1_of_1).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SMS_Building1_(1_of_1).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40969754","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107320147"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/jones-county/sms-building-86002336/"}