{"nrhp_refnum":"76002034","name":"Goliad County Courthouse Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by E. Franklin, S. Washington, E. Fannin, and S. Chilton Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Goliad","county":"Goliad County","state":"TX","lat":28.665986452000055,"lon":-97.39165298115985,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-06-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 19.5-acre historic district around the courthouse square in Goliad, Goliad County, Texas, centered on the 1894 limestone Second Empire county courthouse and surrounding late 19th and early 20th century commercial, civic and residential buildings.","why_significant":"The courthouse and its surrounding pioneer Texas, Victorian and early twentieth century buildings are described as one of the most complete examples of an early courthouse square in Texas. Modern intrusions are rare, so the square keeps the look of Goliad in the early 1900s. The courthouse is also noted as an exceptionally elegant Second Empire public building, and the town has major Texas Revolution associations.","narrative":"Goliad's courthouse square is a 19.5-acre district in the south-central part of the town, still the commercial and governmental center of the county seat. The focus is the county courthouse, completed in 1894 in rough-cut local limestone in the Second Empire style by the firm Martin, Byrnes, and Johnston, with a design reputed to be by Alfred Giles. A 1942 storm destroyed its dome and turrets, and a 1964 addition altered its balance. Around it stand one- and two-story brick, stone and wood buildings, including the 1871 Old Market House, the Cole-Block buildings, the 1896 Maetze Bank Building, the 1854 Masonic Lodge, and the Denham Hotel. Many have shopfronts below and living space above. Some ground floors have been modernized, yet the shared scale and materials keep the square cohesive. Few modern intrusions exist. The district also sits in a town tied to the Texas Revolution, the Goliad Declaration of Independence, and the 1836 Goliad Massacre.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Built by Martin, Byrnes, and Johnston; design reputed to be by Alfred Giles","architectural_style":"Second Empire (courthouse); Victorian commercial buildings","criteria":[],"status_note":"Mixed use: government, commercial, museum and residential. Some buildings have stood vacant in recent years, and local citizens were organizing a restoration effort. The courthouse lost its dome and turrets in a 1942 storm and received an addition in 1964.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.594574-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/33/9721/40972133/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/76002034.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002034/5071c63eeb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76002034/5071c63eeb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 2.0","author":"Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goliad_Town_Square,_Goliad,_Texas_(15642593533).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 2.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Goliad_Town_Square,_Goliad,_Texas_(15642593533).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972133","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q109999704"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/goliad-county/goliad-county-courthouse-historic-district-76002034/"}