Phillips, E. F., House
Why it's listed
This two-story frame house at 902 W. Marvin in Waxahachie was built around 1915 in the Trinity Heights area, northwest of the central business district. It follows a bungalow plan and has weatherboard siding, a hipped roof with gables covered in composition shingles, and wood double-hung windows. A one-bay gabled porch on the south side rests on tapered box supports set on brick piers, and a brick chimney rises from the interior. Survey recorders considered it one of the city's best examples of Prairie School architecture. The style shows in the broad eaves under the long, sweeping hipped roof, the strong horizontal emphasis, multiple roof planes, separate roofs over the first and second stories, continuous porch coping, and an unroofed terrace. E. F. Phillips, an insurance agent, had the house built, and in 1923 banker P. A. Chapman bought it. Its architect is unknown. It was judged locally significant for its architecture and remained a residence with good condition in 1985.
Significance in brief: The inventory form describes it as one of the city's best examples of Prairie School architecture, citing its low-pitched roof, broad eaves and horizontal emphasis. It was built for E. F. Phillips, an insurance agent, and in 1923 was purchased by P. A. Chapman, a banker. The reviewer accepted it as locally significant architecturally under Criterion C.
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 86002498, listed September 24, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 902 W. Marvin, Waxahachie |
|---|---|
| County | Ellis County |
| Listed | September 24, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002498 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Prairie |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed in good condition and still used as a residence at the time of the 1985 survey. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | West Marvin Avenue-Patrick Street Historic District |
| Coordinates | 32.39659, -96.85288 (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 86002498.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110000632
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.