Straus House
Why it's listed
Located at 400 Cedar in Cedar Hill, this two-story wood-frame house is finished in plain cypress lap siding. Its symmetrical vernacular plan recalls the Italianate style in its proportions. The roof combines several intersecting gables with a mansard section on the north facade, repeated over the front porch. Windows are two-over-two single-hung sash with simple drip molds, gables carry fish-scale shingles, and the front porch has turned columns, jigsawn brackets and spindles. Rear porches are hipped-roofed with open lattice sides. Merchant E. E. Straus built the house, dated to about 1884 in one version of the description and about 1895 in another. Straus opened a dry goods store in Cedar Hill around 1880, and after his death in 1885 his wife and sons continued it until mid-century. The family later held extensive business and land interests in southwest Dallas County and opened a branch store in Duncanville in the 1920s. The house is valued as a surviving link to the town's early commercial life.
Significance in brief: The house is associated with E. E. Straus, one of Cedar Hill's leading early merchants, who opened a dry goods store there about 1880. His wife and sons ran the store after his death in 1885, and the Straus family held extensive business and land interests in southwest Dallas County. Reviewers accepted it as one of the few surviving historic properties tied to the town's early commercial development.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 85001495, listed July 12, 1985. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 400 Cedar, Cedar Hill |
|---|---|
| County | Dallas County |
| Listed | July 12, 1985 |
| Reference number | 85001495 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | E. E. Straus (builder/owner) |
| Architectural style | Victorian; vernacular plan reminiscent of Italianate |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 32.58839, -96.95442 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 85001495.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110001825
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.