Goforth-Harris House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
Built around 1905 at 401 Comanche Street in San Marcos, this two-story white frame house combines Victorian styling with a long link to Texas education. It has a hipped roof with a cross gable, a curved double gallery between the main block and the rear ell, three-sided bays, quarter-circle porch brackets with paired turned posts, and fishscale shingles in the gable ends. J.T. Goforth and his wife Lucinda built it. Goforth founded a town northeast of San Marcos that carried his name and helped found and fund the Goforth School. In 1913 the house was sold to Thomas Green and Lon Harris. Harris, an educator and school superintendent in several Texas cities, became the first president of Southwest Texas Normal School in 1903 and later led the San Marcos Baptist Academy. The house has been divided into apartments and has some alterations, but the other three faces are virtually unchanged and interior details such as coffered wainscoting and an ornate stair survive.
Significance in brief: The house is considered architecturally significant as a typical late Victorian residence with an asymmetrical plan and a gracefully detailed porch. It is also linked to Texas education through its residents, notably Lon Harris, the first president of Southwest Texas Normal School, and J.T. Goforth, a founder of the Goforth School.
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 83004497, listed August 26, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 401 Comanche St., San Marcos |
|---|---|
| County | Hays County |
| Listed | August 26, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83004497 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899, 1900- |
| Architectural style | Victorian |
| Areas of significance | Education, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied, in good condition but altered; converted into three apartments and used as a private residence. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 29.88521, -97.94471 (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 83004497.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q110002244
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.