{"nrhp_refnum":"93000113","name":"Merrell-Roten House","other_names":["Site No. 116"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"520 Ave. A","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wharton","county":"Wharton County","state":"TX","lat":29.31485897600004,"lon":-96.09086015199995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-03-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story brick veneer Tudor Revival style house at 520 Avenue A in Wharton, Wharton County, Texas, built in 1930 northeast of downtown in a residential neighborhood.","why_significant":"The house is considered a good example of an eclectic dwelling showing Tudor Revival influence. It is also one of a relatively small number of Wharton dwellings with full brick exterior construction. It is tied to the context of community development in Wharton from 1875 to 1942, and a later owner, John L. Roten, was a prominent local businessman.","narrative":"Built in 1930 at 520 Avenue A in Wharton, this 2 1/2-story brick veneer house reflects the Tudor Revival influence that was popular among the town's professionals in the late 1920s and 1930s. It has a steeply pitched, multi-gabled asphalt shingle roof, half-timbered vergeboard detailing in the gable ends, a round-arched entrance bay, and a prominent brick chimney with elaborate brickwork. Windows are one-over-one wooden double-hung sash. James F. and Lena Merrill had the house built soon after acquiring the property, and John L. Roten bought it in 1932. Roten became one of Wharton's most successful mid-century businessmen, starting with a dry goods store in 1922 and later opening stores in several other Texas towns. The house was listed for its architecture, as a good local example of Tudor Revival design. Its full brick exterior is rarely seen on Wharton dwellings. The architect and builder are unknown.","period_of_significance":"1930","architect_builder":"Unknown","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Tudor Revival","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Historic and current use are both single-family dwelling; a modern frame garage behind the house is noncontributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.231984-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/9707/40970754/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/93000113.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000113/a56941da6b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000113/a56941da6b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Merrell-Roten_House,_Wharton,_TX.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">25or6to4</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:Merrell-Roten_House,_Wharton,_TX.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970754","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000904"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/wharton-county/merrell-roten-house-93000113/"}