After years of requests for a dedicated president's home, construction of what we now know as the Heritage House was approved by the 40th Legislature at a cost of $15,000. The home housed several university presidents and their families, including Samuel Whitley, James G. Gee, D. Whitney Halladay, and Ray Keck. Following the construction of the second president's home on Highway 24/50, many departments on campus used sections of the building as offices. In the 1990s, an extensive remodel restored the home and surrounding gardens. The Heritage House was named a Texas Historic Landmark in 1997 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2001. The Heritage House is located along the Walking Mall off of Stonewall Street, near the Journalism Building.