{"nrhp_refnum":"69000210","name":"Old U.S. Post Office and Courts Building","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"223 Austin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Jefferson","county":"Marion County","state":"TX","lat":32.755611773000055,"lon":-94.34607522699997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1969-10-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A combined federal courthouse and post office at 223 Austin Street in Jefferson, Marion County, Texas, built between 1888 and early 1890 in the Romanesque style. It was designed by William A. Ferret and constructed by James H. Caster.","why_significant":"The nomination presents the building as a typical example of the small federal courthouse and post office buildings of the Southwest and West in this period, and it is significant for its architecture. The land was deeded to the United States in 1887. In 1965 a local historical society bought the building for use as a museum, and in 1966 the Texas State Historical Survey Committee designated it a historic landmark.","narrative":"Located at 223 Austin Street in Jefferson, Texas, this brick building once combined a federal courthouse and a post office. The land was deeded to the United States in June 1887, construction began in May 1888, and the building was finished early in 1890. A Treasury Department employee prepared the design, while a regional firm held the construction contract. The Romanesque structure measures about seventy and a half feet by fifty-two and a half feet and has a tower of roughly seventy feet. The post office occupied the first floor, and the second floor held the courtroom, jury room and offices for court officials. Round-arched entrances, segmental-arched windows, brick cornices and a tower stairhall with turned banisters are notable features. The nomination treats it as typical of small federal buildings of its era in the Southwest and West. The Jefferson Historical Society bought it in 1965 for a museum, and the state historical committee designated it a landmark in 1966.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Designed by William A. Ferret; constructed by James H. Caster","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in fair condition at the time of nomination; purchased in 1965 by the Jefferson Historical Society for use as a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.973737-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/9729/40972914/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/69000210.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000210/b51d90a234-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/69000210/b51d90a234-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.5","author":"Jay Carriker (User:JCarriker)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office_Museum-_Jefferson,_Texas.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Jay Carriker (User:JCarriker)</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.5</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Post_Office_Museum-_Jefferson,_Texas.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"71000949","name":"Jefferson Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/jefferson-historic-district-71000949/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972914","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_United_States_Post_Office_and_Courts_Building_(Jefferson,_Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7085359"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/marion-county/old-u-s-post-office-and-courts-building-69000210/"}