{"nrhp_refnum":"71000945","name":"Lavaca County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Bounded by LaGrange, 2nd, 3rd, and Main Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hallettsville","county":"Lavaca County","state":"TX","lat":29.444940820000056,"lon":-96.94289232799997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-03-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story limestone county courthouse in Hallettsville, Lavaca County, Texas, occupying the block bounded by LaGrange, 2nd, 3rd and Main streets. It was built under a 1897 decision by county officials and accepted in 1899.","why_significant":"The nomination cites the building's architecture: a Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse strongly influenced by the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh. It also records the county seat's history, including the contest between Petersburg and Hallettsville, and the successive courthouses built for the county.","narrative":"Lavaca County's courthouse in Hallettsville is a raised, three-story limestone building with a cruciform plan, hip roof and heavy pyramidal-roofed towers flanking the side arms. A one-story porch with Romanesque arches marks the front, and a tall central tower carries clock faces and an open belvedere under a pyramidal roof. Its design draws strongly on the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh. County officials voted in March 1897 to replace the earlier 1875 courthouse. T. Heiner of Houston served as architect, and A. T. Lucas won the construction contract with a bid of $62,500. Plumbing, vaults and a clock tower were contracted separately, and the commissioners accepted the finished building in May 1899. The site also reflects the town's earlier struggle with Petersburg over the county seat, which ended after two elections and a dispute over the records. Repairs and basement remodeling were carried out in 1936. The courthouse remains in county government use.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1897)","architect_builder":"T. Heiner of Houston, architect; A. T. Lucas, contractor","architectural_style":"Richardsonian (Romanesque)","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, publicly owned by the county, occupied and in government use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.735432-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/9728/40972821/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/71000945.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000945/1dc4fdd5df-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000945/1dc4fdd5df-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"25or6to4","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lavaca_County_Courthouse_full.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">25or6to4</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:Lavaca_County_Courthouse_full.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972821","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lavaca_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54871507"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/lavaca-county/lavaca-county-courthouse-71000945/"}