Barkley-Floyd House
Why it's listed
This two-story frame house at 709 N. Dallas in Ennis was built in 1892 by local builder B. F. Sargent for H. P. Barkley, a conductor and yardmaster for the H.&T.C. Railroad. It follows a modified L-plan, the most common house plan in the region, and has weatherboard siding, a hip roof with gables, and one-over-one wood windows. A seven-bay hip-roofed porch with turned posts wraps around the front-projecting wing. Squared balusters, jig-sawn brackets and corbeled interior brick chimneys add detail. It was listed because it is an outstanding and one of the few remaining unaltered local examples of its type, with decorative woodwork intact on the gable ends and porch. In 1905 T. W. Floyd, an insurance and real estate salesman who later opened Floyd's Variety Store, bought the house. Ida McCanless, widow of Hix McCanless, owned it later. The house has been moved and remains in residential use in an area north of downtown.
Significance in brief: The house is described as an outstanding and one of the few remaining unaltered local examples of the two-story modified L-plan house, the region's most abundant plan type. Jig-sawn and turned-wood decoration remains intact on the gable ends and the wraparound porch. A reviewer noted it is one of the few remaining examples of that plan type in Ennis.
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 86002389, listed September 25, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 709 N. Dallas, Ennis |
|---|---|
| County | Ellis County |
| Listed | September 25, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002389 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Architect unknown; contractor/builder B. F. Sargent |
| Architectural style | Modified L-plan |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition listed as good; present use residential. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 32.33257, -96.63175 (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 86002389.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110001913
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.