Spooner, Thomas Harrison and Mollie, House
Why it's listed
Set on a tree-shaded corner lot in Gonzales, this 2-1/2 story frame house grew in several stages between about 1870 and 1905. Its oldest part, a rear wing, was built about 1872 by Joseph O'Connor. Judge T.H. Spooner, a prominent local attorney and businessman, added a one-story center-passage house around 1875, then undertook a major renovation between 1902 and 1907. That work raised the house to two and a half stories and added a two-story front gallery, a projecting front bay, and a multi-gabled metal roof. Cypress siding, fishscale shingles, Doric columns and pedimented windows blend Queen Anne and Classical Revival details. The earlier buildings were folded into the larger design so well that the house looks like a single composition from the street. Little has changed since 1905, and most original doors, windows and trim survive. The house is listed for its architectural merit and its high integrity, and it reflects Gonzales during its period of railroad-driven prosperity.
Significance in brief: The house is significant under Criterion C for architectural merit at the local level. It combines Queen Anne and Classical Revival elements in an eclectic hybrid that incorporates two earlier dwellings. It also retains a very high degree of integrity from its ca. 1905 construction.
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 03000610, listed July 5, 2003. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 207 St. Francis St., Gonzales |
|---|---|
| County | Gonzales County |
| Listed | July 5, 2003 |
| Reference number | 03000610 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Judge T.H. Spooner (owner-builder of the ca. 1875 house and ca. 1905 renovation); Joseph O'Connor (built the earliest wing, ca. 1872) |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian: Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Long vacant and in need of repair before 1996, when it was purchased and restored to its ca. 1905 condition. Current function is listed as multiple dwelling. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Within district | Gonzales Commercial Historic District |
| Coordinates | 29.50313, -97.45590 (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 03000610.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002081
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.