{"nrhp_refnum":"88002063","name":"Gilbert, Samuel and Julia, House","other_names":["The Gilbert Homestead","The Old Rock House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"2540 Farmers Branch Ln.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Farmers Branch","county":"Dallas County","state":"TX","lat":32.91812943700006,"lon":-96.89084019699999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-11-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A one-story rubblestone farmhouse at 2540 Farmers Branch Lane in Farmers Branch, Dallas County, Texas, built about 1855-56 for Dr. Samuel H. Gilbert and his wife Julia Ann, with a frame rear wing added in 1939.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it perhaps the oldest recognizable house still on its original site in Dallas County and a well-restored Early Texas rock house with modest Greek Revival influence. It meets Criterion C for architecture and Criterion D for its archaeological potential, since the yard holds intact artifacts and features from about 1850 to 1930. The 1939 addition is treated as the major 20th-century part of the house's evolution.","narrative":"Built in 1855-56 for physician Samuel H. Gilbert and his wife Julia Ann, this limestone rubble farmhouse in Farmers Branch is described as perhaps the oldest recognizable house still on its original site in Dallas County. The one-story main block has a seven-bay front gallery, a hipped shingle roof and a central dogtrot hall. Gilbert bought 307 acres of a Peters Colony headright, treated patients across the area, farmed and raised cattle and sheep. Later owners remodeled the house in 1939, adding a rear wing with bedrooms and a garage. The City of Farmers Branch acquired the property in 1981 and restored the main block between 1983 and 1985, removing the 1939 changes to the dogtrot and reusing the wing for museum operations. The 2.2-acre lot also holds a light scatter of artifacts from about 1850 to 1930, which an archaeologist judged to indicate intact buried deposits. The house is listed for its architecture and its archaeological potential.","period_of_significance":"1850-1930s (specific dates 1855-56/1939/1983-85)","architect_builder":"Restoration: Keith Downing/JPF, Dallas; original architect/builder not stated; the 1939 addition's architect is not known","architectural_style":"Early Texas stone building with modest Greek Revival influence; dogtrot plan","criteria":["C","D"],"status_note":"Owned by the City of Farmers Branch, restored 1983-85, and operating as a historic-house museum in a city park; condition listed as excellent.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.610686-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/9716/40971635/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/88002063.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002063/9bb36a1ada-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88002063/9bb36a1ada-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Sharonshields","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gilbert_House,_Farmers_Branch.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Sharonshields</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:Gilbert_House,_Farmers_Branch.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971635","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000808"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/dallas-county/gilbert-samuel-and-julia-house-88002063/"}