{"nrhp_refnum":"03000333","name":"Rains County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"100 E Quitman St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Emory","county":"Rains County","state":"TX","lat":32.87468741400005,"lon":-95.76495350499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-05-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story Classical Revival county courthouse at 100 East Quitman Street in the center square of Emory, Rains County, Texas, built in 1909 of light-colored Ginger brick.","why_significant":"It is significant under Criterion A as the center of government for Rains County, and under Criterion C as an intact example of a Classical Revival public building applied to a rural county courthouse. It replaced the 1884 courthouse, which was gutted by fire in 1908, and it incorporates that building's surviving vault. Its unusual floor plan and low construction cost are also noted.","narrative":"Rising from a raised site in the center square of Emory, this 1909 courthouse serves Rains County, in northeast Texas. It has a cruciform plan with square wings angled at each corner, light-colored brick walls made at a nearby brickyard, pilasters, pediments and a metal dome. It was built after a 1908 fire gutted the county's 1884 courthouse, and the steel vault that survived the fire was left in place, with the new building constructed around it. That vault occupies the spot where a fourth entrance would have gone, so the building has three entrances. The Bryan Architectural Company of St. Louis designed it, and the Falls City Construction Company of Louisville built it for a bid of $18,700. It is valued as the center of county government and as an intact Classical Revival design for a rural county. A 1952 jail wing and later interior changes altered it, and a funded restoration has been returning its original appearance.","period_of_significance":"1909-1952","architect_builder":"Bryan Architectural Company, St. Louis - architect; Falls City Construction Company, Louisville - builder","architectural_style":"Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals/Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as the county courthouse; restoration funded through the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program was under way, with removal of the 1952 north addition planned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.458108-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/41/9732/40973241/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/03000333.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000333/8ab74cf441-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000333/8ab74cf441-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rains_courthouse_2010.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:Rains_courthouse_2010.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973241","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110025033"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/rains-county/rains-county-courthouse-03000333/"}