{"nrhp_refnum":"03000332","name":"San Jacinto County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"#1 TX 150 at Byrd Ave.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Coldspring","county":"San Jacinto County","state":"TX","lat":30.592252616000053,"lon":-95.12864869899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-05-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Classical Revival county courthouse at Highway 150 and Byrd Avenue in Coldspring, San Jacinto County, Texas, built in 1916-17 with brick-faced walls. Architects Roy E. Lane and Wilkes A. Dowdy designed it.","why_significant":"It replaced the wooden courthouse destroyed by fire in 1915, and its construction on higher ground led to the relocation of the whole town. It has served as the center of county government since 1917. It is also an intact example of a Classical Revival public building, with 1937 portico changes that stay within the style.","narrative":"Built in 1916-17, this three-story brick courthouse in Coldspring serves as the seat of San Jacinto County government. Houston architects Roy E. Lane and Wilkes A. Dowdy designed it in the Classical Revival style, with quoining, pediments, columns and monumental entry stairs on a symmetrical cross-axis plan. Bricks were fired in kilns near the site. It replaced a wooden courthouse that burned in March 1915, and its placement on higher ground prompted residents to roll homes and businesses uphill to a new townsite. At its dedication it was reportedly the fourth largest county courthouse in Texas, and it remains the county's only masonry courthouse. In 1937, as part of a WPA improvement program, the original Corinthian columns were replaced with Doric columns and pediments. The interior centers on a circular atrium with concentric staircases. It is recognized for its role in local government and as an intact Classical Revival public building.","period_of_significance":"1917-1952","architect_builder":"Lane, Roy E. and Dowdy, Wilkes A. - architects; Price & Williamson - builders","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as the county courthouse; the form lists its current function as government/courthouse.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.054743-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/9733/40973318/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/03000332.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000332/cfce2c861f-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000332/cfce2c861f-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:San_jacinto_tx_county_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:San_jacinto_tx_county_courthouse_2014.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973318","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000063"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/san-jacinto-county/san-jacinto-county-courthouse-03000332/"}