{"nrhp_refnum":"77001433","name":"Concho County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Paint Rock","county":"Concho County","state":"TX","lat":31.508662537000077,"lon":-99.92032600099998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-11-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story native stone county courthouse on the Public Square in Paint Rock, Concho County, Texas, built in 1886 in the Second Empire style. It was designed by F.E. Ruffini, with his brother Oscar Ruffini supervising construction.","why_significant":"The courthouse is argued to have both governmental and architectural significance as the county's first permanent courthouse and a good example of Second Empire style. Its architects, the Ruffini brothers, were among the early professionals in Texas, and Oscar Ruffini was the first professional to establish an office in West Texas. It has served county government continuously since completion.","narrative":"Paint Rock's courthouse, completed in 1886, was the first permanent courthouse in Concho County. Built of cream-colored native stone ashlar, it rises two stories beneath an elaborate Mansard roof with circular dormers, galvanized iron trim and wrought iron cresting over the entry pavilion. Pedimented entrances with Mansard-roofed pavilions mark each side, and tall arched windows line the walls. Inside, wide corridors divide the ground floor into four quadrants, with county offices below and a large courtroom upstairs. Pressed metal ceilings and a wooden staircase survive. Architect F.E. Ruffini of Austin prepared the plans, and after his death his brother Oscar Ruffini of San Angelo supervised construction. The brothers were known mainly for courthouses, and this one omits the usual tower in favor of the roof as the dominant feature. Oscar Ruffini was the first professional architect to open an office in West Texas. The building has served county government since completion and also hosted dances and religious services.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899 (specific date 1886)","architect_builder":"F. E. Ruffini & Oscar Ruffini; contractors J.B. Kane and John Cormack (Kane and Cormack Contractors and Builders)","architectural_style":"Second Empire","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as the county courthouse with relatively few modifications; condition listed as good and occupied. A concrete records vault was added at the northeast corner.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.161766-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/9715/40971573/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/77001433.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001433/d69e45a9c6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001433/d69e45a9c6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"GeoffreyLong","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Concho_County_Courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">GeoffreyLong</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:Concho_County_Courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971573","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concho_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q54871516"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/concho-county/concho-county-courthouse-77001433/"}