{"nrhp_refnum":"71000957","name":"Parker County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Courthouse Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Weatherford","county":"Parker County","state":"TX","lat":32.75903842100007,"lon":-97.79736134899997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-06-21","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story limestone county courthouse with a central clock tower, located on Courthouse Square in Weatherford, Parker County, Texas. It was built in 1884-1886 to designs by architect W. C. Dodson.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the courthouse is significant for its architecture, describing it as a naive and charming version of the French Second Empire style. It is the fourth courthouse on the site, built after earlier ones were lost or burned, and its tower design was repeated in the Hill and Hood county courthouses.","narrative":"Parker County Courthouse in Weatherford, Texas, is a limestone government building completed in 1884-1886 at a cost of $55,555.55. It rises three stories, with fourth-story attics and a central tower adding three more stories. The square plan has four identical facades, each divided into five bays. Convex mansard roofs with pedimented dormers cap the end pavilions, and clock faces crown the tower. Architect W. C. Dodson designed it, then in partnership with a man named Dudley. It is the county's fourth courthouse; the first was rough pine, the second burned in 1874, and the third burned in 1884. Dodson later used the same tower design at the Hill and Hood county courthouses, both built in 1890. The nomination describes the building as a naive and charming version of French Second Empire architecture. Weatherford was once the last settlement on the western frontier between Fort Worth and El Paso. The courthouse was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1965 and remains in public use.","period_of_significance":"1884-1886","architect_builder":"W. C. Dodson","architectural_style":"French Second Empire","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, altered, on its original site, and 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 02:54:19.285856-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/9731/40973160/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/71000957.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000957/93f13952b7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000957/93f13952b7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Michael Barera","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Weatherford_May_2017_29_(Parker_County_Courthouse).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Barera</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:Weatherford_May_2017_29_(Parker_County_Courthouse).jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"90001745","name":"Weatherford Downtown Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/texas/weatherford-downtown-historic-district-90001745/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973160","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parker_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q46999372"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/parker-county/parker-county-courthouse-71000957/"}