{"nrhp_refnum":"10000248","name":"Houston County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"401 E Houston Ave","address_restricted":false,"city":"Crockett","county":"Houston County","state":"TX","lat":31.321141761000035,"lon":-95.45708937399996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-05-10","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Moderne county courthouse at 401 East Houston Avenue on the public square in Crockett, Houston County, Texas, designed in 1938 by Houston architect Blum E. Hester and completed in 1939.","why_significant":"It is the fifth and last courthouse on Crockett's public square and has served as the seat of Houston County government. It was built with New Deal Public Works Administration funds. It is described as an excellent and relatively austere example of the Art Moderne style, and the finest example of that style in the county.","narrative":"Houston County's courthouse in Crockett is a Moderne-style civic building designed in 1938 by Houston architect Blum E. Hester and finished in 1939. It is the fifth courthouse on the town's public square and replaced a brick courthouse from 1883. Funding came partly from a Public Works Administration grant and partly from a $120,000 county bond issue approved by voters. Eckert-Fair Construction Company of Dallas won the building contract. The structure has a concrete frame, brick infill and a veneer of gray marble and Texas limestone, with steel windows and green marble spandrels. Ornament is restrained, limited to incised waves and vertical fluting. Inside, terrazzo floors, travertine and marble wainscots, and oak and walnut woodwork survive. The courthouse is recognized for its role as the center of county government and civic life, and as the county's best example of the Moderne style. It remains in use as the courthouse with few exterior changes.","period_of_significance":"1938-1960","architect_builder":"Hester, Blum E. - Architect; Eckert-Fair Construction Company - Builder","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still used as the county courthouse; the form reports a high degree of integrity with a major renovation in 1975-1976 and repairs in 1995.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:24.101569-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/9726/40972618/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/10000248.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000248/c839e7db8c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000248/c839e7db8c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HoustonCountyCourtHouse1.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HoustonCountyCourtHouse1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972618","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_County_Courthouse_(Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107321591"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/houston-county/houston-county-courthouse-10000248/"}