Wise-Fielding House and Carriage House
Why it's listed
This property in Paris, Texas, consists of a Queen Anne style brick house and a frame carriage house at 418 W. Washington. The residence rises 2½ stories and has an asymmetrical plan, a two-story bay window on a projecting wing west of the entrance, paired windows in a hipped projection to the east, and mostly one-over-one windows. A Bungaloid porch replaced the original Victorian verandah at an unknown date, but the interior is described as intact and significant. The carriage house is a symmetrical 1½-story frame building with a steeply pitched roof broken by a center gable. Cotton merchant W.B. Wise built the house in 1887, and his strong connections with Britain may have influenced its design. Its brick construction and detailed finish make it more sophisticated than most Texas houses of its style and date. After a 1916 fire it was sold to the Fielding family. The servants' quarters and a large octagonal structure at the rear are gone, so the surviving carriage house is a rare example.
Significance in brief: The house is described as one of the more noteworthy Queen Anne houses surviving in North Texas. Its brick construction and sophisticated detailing set it above most houses of its style and date in Texas. The substantial surviving outbuilding, the carriage house, is called a rare survival. It was built by prominent cotton merchant W.B. Wise, whose connections with Britain may have influenced the design.
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 88001916, listed December 22, 1988. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 418 W. Washington, Paris |
|---|---|
| County | Lamar County |
| Listed | December 22, 1988 |
| Reference number | 88001916 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899, 1900- |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Physical condition listed as fair; the Fielding family occupied the house until recently, and present use is given as "vacant?". The Victorian verandah was replaced by a Bungaloid porch at an unknown date. |
| Acreage | 4 |
| Coordinates | 33.65616, -101.48546 (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 88001916.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q107321970
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.