Beginning in the late 1920s, petrified wood construction became popular in Texas and the American Southwest, influenced in part by National Park Service Rustic design that used natural materials. Residences built or clad with petrified wood were sometimes called stone tree houses. In the 1930s, Rockdale businessman H.H. Coffield had a home and grounds facing State Highway 43, later U.S. Highway 79, clad with petrified wood for use as rental property. The main house had a cross-gable floor plan, a petrified wood exterior on its walls and modified buttresses, brick trim around the entry and around rectangular and circular window openings, and decorative bargeboard along the projecting gables. Other historic features included a decorative well, a detached two-car garage, and formerly a low stone fence facing the road, though the architect is unknown. In 1995, the Rockdale Chamber of Commerce acquired the property for its offices. Founded in 1952 as the successor to the Young Men's Business League, the Chamber of Commerce continued efforts to improve Rockdale's economic development by promoting historical tourism and preservation and working jointly with local businesses. Petrified wood buildings and structures in this homestead, in Rockdale's Fair Park, and throughout Milam County form part of the area's heritage and distinctive cultural landscape.