Earle-Napier-Kinnard House
Why it's listed
Located at 814 South 4th Street in Waco, this two-story brick house is a symmetrical late Greek Revival residence. Its five-bay front has a three-bay, two-story gallery with slender Ionic columns and wooden balustrades at both levels. Windows have six-over-six sashes and simple stone lintels. A one-story rear ell is believed to be the oldest part, built by John Baylis Earle, a Mississippi native who moved to Waco in 1855 and acquired the property in 1856. The Earles sold in 1866, and in 1868 the property passed to John S. Napier as trustee for his wife. Napier completed the house in its present form. In the 1870s it came to the Rev. D. C. Kinnard and his wife Sarah Napier Kinnard; he became the second pastor of Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Waco. After a 1959 restoration, the house was given in 1967 to the Waco Perpetual Growth Foundation and now serves as a house museum. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1968.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it one of the fine late Greek Revival mansions of Texas. It is tied to John Baylis Earle, who built the original portion, and to John S. Napier, who completed the house. It later passed to the Rev. D. C. Kinnard, a Waco pastor, and was restored in 1959 and opened as a house museum.
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 71001017, listed March 11, 1971. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 814 S. 4th St., Waco |
|---|---|
| County | McLennan County |
| Listed | March 11, 1971 |
| Reference number | 71001017 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | John Baylis Earle (original portion); John S. Napier (completed the house) |
| Architectural style | Late Greek Revival |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition marked excellent and unaltered, on its original site; operated as a house museum by the Historic Waco Foundation. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 31.57876, -97.12283 (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 71001017.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q107317676
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.