{"nrhp_refnum":"91001539","name":"State Epileptic Colony Historic District","other_names":["Abilene State Hospital","Abilene State School"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by S. 24th, Lakeside and Plum, also area roughly bounded by SH 322, FM 1750 and Industrial Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Abilene","county":"Taylor County","state":"TX","lat":32.40986865000008,"lon":-99.71514304304156,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1991-10-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Health/Medicine","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A historic district of about 35 acres in two parcels roughly 2.5 miles southeast of downtown Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, built from 1903 as the State Epileptic Colony. It includes 17 contributing and 9 noncontributing resources, among them a detached cemetery.","why_significant":"The district preserves the campus of the state's epileptic colony, which was established after Abilene civic leaders lobbied for it in the 1890s. Its bullet-shaped plan and its Classical Revival and Prairie School influenced masonry buildings remain largely intact. The period of significance runs from 1903 to 1941.","narrative":"Southeast of downtown Abilene, a campus laid out in 1903 as the State Epileptic Colony survives with most of its early buildings. The roughly 35-acre district has 17 contributing and 9 noncontributing resources. Its core is a bullet-shaped street plan centered on the 1903 Administration Building, a two-story red brick Classical Revival structure with a Doric portico. Nearby are the 1910 water standpipe and the 1904 Superintendent's House. Brick dormitories from the 1920s and 1930s, physician quarters, a chapel, and the 1903 power house, laundry, and bakery complete the historic group. A four-acre cemetery with more than 1,337 patient graves lies apart from the campus. The colony resulted from lobbying by Abilene leaders in the 1890s, who secured a 1899 law authorizing it and donated 640 acres; the state formally established it in 1901. The district retains a high degree of integrity, with its plan and buildings little altered, and all resources remain in use.","period_of_significance":"1903-1941","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Classical Revival; Prairie School","criteria":[],"status_note":"The document states that all of the resources remain in use, that the district has been well maintained, and that the cemetery is still in use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.201491-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/80/9735/40973580/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/91001539.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973580","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999622"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/taylor-county/state-epileptic-colony-historic-district-91001539/"}