{"nrhp_refnum":"03000935","name":"Menard County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"206 E. San Saba St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Menard","county":"Menard County","state":"TX","lat":30.91516272800004,"lon":-99.78377856099996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2003-09-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1931 county courthouse at 206 East San Saba Street in Menard, Menard County, Texas, designed by Withers and Thompson and built by E.D. Porter. It stands on a two-block square divided by an 1875 irrigation canal.","why_significant":"It has served as the center of Menard County government for over seventy years, replacing an 1885 courthouse and jail. It is also a well-executed early modern Texas courthouse in the Art Deco mode, with stepped massing that sets it apart from most courthouses of the period. Its exterior and interior retain a high degree of integrity.","narrative":"Built in 1931, the Menard County Courthouse sits at the south end of a long, narrow square in a town along the San Saba River in Central Texas. Fort Worth architect E.G. Withers and his partner Jesse Thompson designed it, and E.D. Porter built it. A one-story entry steps back to a four-story central mass flanked by two-story wings, all in multicolored brick with cast stone ornament and metal casement windows. The stepped massing and stylized detailing mark it as Art Deco, and the interior follows a traditional H-shaped plan. Voters approved an $80,000 bond in 1930 by a narrow margin, and the county took advantage of low Depression-era costs and plentiful labor to replace its 1885 courthouse and jail. The building cost roughly $100,000 to $105,000. It has housed county government ever since and keeps most original materials, fixtures and its district courtroom. An 1875 irrigation canal, also counted as contributing, crosses the square.","period_of_significance":"1931-1953","architect_builder":"Withers and Thompson = architect; Porter, E.D. = builder","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Art Deco","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still in use as the county courthouse; the exterior and interior are largely unchanged, though a 1980 jail, 1966 swimming pool and support building on the square are non-contributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.91588-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/35/9730/40973035/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/03000935.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000935/70c46568ed-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/03000935/70c46568ed-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Menard_County_Courthouse_(2018),_Menard,_TX.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">25or6to4</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Menard_County_Courthouse_(2018),_Menard,_TX.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973035","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107323136"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/menard-county/menard-county-courthouse-03000935/"}