{"nrhp_refnum":"93000566","name":"Brooks, William and Blanche, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"500 S. Center St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Forney","county":"Kaufman County","state":"TX","lat":32.74302967500006,"lon":-96.47349212199998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-07-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story frame Queen Anne style house with Colonial Revival influences at 500 South Center Street, Forney, Kaufman County, Texas, built in 1898 and remodeled around 1915, with a contributing servants' quarters (former carriage house) on the lot.","why_significant":"The house is tied to William Armstead Brooks, a landowner, cattle raiser, cotton grower and banker who was a major force in Forney's commercial development around the turn of the century (Criterion B, Commerce). It is also an excellent example of the Queen Anne style, and of how such a house was updated in the early 20th century (Criterion C, Architecture).","narrative":"This two-and-a-half-story frame house at 500 South Center Street in Forney, Texas, was built in 1898 to designs by Dallas architect Charles Alexander Gill for William Armstead Brooks and his wife Blanche. Its Queen Anne character shows in cross gables, a three-story conical-roofed tower, fluted brick chimneys and an asymmetrical plan. Around 1915 the house was remodeled with a deeper wraparound porch carried on Doric colonettes, Adamesque mantels and a new north entrance. A 1989 rehabilitation by a grandson of the original owners restored the 1915 appearance. Brooks owned large tracts in Kaufman County, raised cattle, grew cotton, organized a cotton gin and later entered banking, helping drive Forney's growth after the railroad arrived. The house sits within an intact Victorian-era neighborhood and is recognized for its local importance in commerce and architecture. A former carriage house, converted early to an apartment, also survives on the lot.","period_of_significance":"1898-1932","architect_builder":"Gill, Charles Alexander (architect)","architectural_style":"Queen Anne","criteria":["B","C"],"status_note":"In excellent physical condition after a 1989 rehabilitation that returned the house to its circa 1915 appearance; in use as a single dwelling.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.894553-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/9727/40972748/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/93000566.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000566/27ffb12397-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93000566/27ffb12397-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brooks_House_(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:Brooks_House_(1_of_1).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972748","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q2581142"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/kaufman-county/brooks-william-and-blanche-house-93000566/"}