National Register Listing

House at 502 South Orient

502 S. Orient, Stamford, TX

<p>The residence at 502 S. Orient is important in Stamford as an example of the traditional large house built early in the city's history. It is also important for its possible connection with Stamford College.</p><p>Probably built between 1907 and 1910, this house was finally mapped by the Sanborn Company in 1922. It does not possess any great architectural merit but is a good, representative example of a typical, vernacular, early twentieth-century residence of large size. It is also important for its possible association with Stamford College. Although the dating on this section of town is vague because of spotty mapping by the Sanborn Map Company, likely, this pre-1922 structure was built around 1907 or 1908 in conjunction with Stamford College, which occupied the land directly across the street.</p><p>When Stamford College was built in 1907, it no doubt prompted the construction of some houses on nearby streets. Unfortunately, the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps do not deal with this part of town except to indicate the college campus. The area around the college, the College Heights addition, was platted in 1907, so construction did take place on that date. (A house a half-block east, for instance, was built in 1910.) In 1922 this dwelling was finally mapped. The present house was likely built much earlier, as a dwelling for a college employee or a faculty member.</p><p>In any case, the house is one of the best examples of the large, early twentieth-century residential houses in the city. It is virtually unaltered and is representative of the kind of well-built, middle-, or even upper-class housing constructed in Stamford during its first two decades of growth. It may well be the most substantial example in Stamford of the American Foursquare style. The surrounding area is largely residential.</p>

Local significance of the building:
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1986.