{"nrhp_refnum":"10000499","name":"Karnes County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"101 Panna Maria Ave","address_restricted":false,"city":"Karnes City","county":"Karnes County","state":"TX","lat":28.886877586000026,"lon":-97.90188253599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2010-07-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick county courthouse at 101 Panna Maria Avenue in Karnes City, Karnes County, Texas, built in 1895 with two concrete-frame additions made in 1924. The nominated property also includes a 1954 sheriff's office and jail, a c. 1945 storage building and a 1936 marker.","why_significant":"The documentation shows the building has been the center of county government and politics since its construction in 1895. It was designed and built under John Cormack, who is named as architect and contractor on the cornerstone, and completed by Jacob Astor Austin after Cormack died in 1894. The surviving fabric still reflects the original Second Empire and Richardsonian Romanesque design despite later alterations.","narrative":"Karnes County's courthouse sits on a hill in Karnes City, facing east toward Panna Maria Avenue. Completed in 1895, it is a three-story load-bearing brick building with rusticated stone trim. It was designed with Second Empire and Richardsonian Romanesque features, including mansard towers, conical corner towers, a central clock tower and a slate roof. County commissioners chose the builder after a contested process in which several architects submitted plans. John Cormack won the contract, but he died in August 1894, and his friend Jacob Astor Austin took over construction. In 1924 two concrete-frame additions were added on the west side, and the towers and roof features were altered or removed. The brick was later stuccoed, the roof covered in terra cotta tile, and the interior remodeled, notably in 1965-1966. A 1954 sheriff's office and jail, a storage building and a 1936 centennial marker share the grounds. The courthouse remains in use as the seat of county government.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"John Cormack, architect and contractor; Jacob Astor Austin, contractor who finished construction after Cormack's death","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Second Empire; Richardsonian Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still used as the county courthouse. Described as altered by 1924 additions, replaced windows and doors, and an extensively remodeled interior; restoration plans call for removing the 1924 additions.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.147874-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/36/9727/40972736/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/10000499.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000499/f339738ae0-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/10000499/f339738ae0-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Karnes_County_Texas_Courthouse_East_Elevation_2018.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:Karnes_County_Texas_Courthouse_East_Elevation_2018.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972736","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110000044"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/karnes-county/karnes-county-courthouse-10000499/"}