{"nrhp_refnum":"02001514","name":"Liberty County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1923 Sam Houston Blvd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Liberty","county":"Liberty County","state":"TX","lat":30.059188317000064,"lon":-94.79666464099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2002-12-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Art Deco county courthouse at 1923 Sam Houston Blvd. on the original courthouse square in Liberty, Texas, built in 1931 to designs by Houston architect Corneil G. Curtis, with a 1956 west addition.","why_significant":"The courthouse is the seventh to occupy the square and has served longer than any earlier one, tying it to the county's government and economy (Criterion A). It is also an early and notable Texas example of Art Deco, or \"Modern Classic,\" design (Criterion C), with a largely intact exterior and interior.","narrative":"Liberty County's 1931 courthouse is a two-story poured concrete building clad in Texas Cordova Cream limestone, set on the original town square in Liberty. Houston architect Corneil G. Curtis designed it in an Art Deco manner, with tall pilasters, black steel windows, decorative metal panels, and low-relief carvings of longhorns, covered wagons, pine trees, oil derricks and Lone Stars. Inside, marble wainscoting, mosaic and tile floors, and a double-height district courtroom survive in remarkably intact condition. A plain 1956 addition by Wyatt C. Hedrick hides the west side but leaves the other elevations unchanged. Commissioners began considering a replacement for the 1895 courthouse in 1927, and contractor M.H. Ryland completed the new building in December 1931 for about $250,000. The courthouse is recognized for its long role in county government and as an early Texas example of Art Deco design. It continues to serve as the county courthouse.","period_of_significance":"1931-1952","architect_builder":"Architect = Corneil G. Curtis; Builder = M.H. Ryland","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as the county courthouse; the 1956 addition covers the west side, and water infiltration has damaged some interior finishes.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.777481-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/9728/40972838/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/02001514.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001514/764e4d4f67-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/02001514/764e4d4f67-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_county_tx_courthouse_2014.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Liberty_county_tx_courthouse_2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972838","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_County_Courthouse_(Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107317992"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/liberty-county/liberty-county-courthouse-02001514/"}