{"nrhp_refnum":"77001460","name":"Milam County Courthouse and Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq. and S. Fannin and E. 1st St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cameron","county":"Milam County","state":"TX","lat":30.85002126100005,"lon":-96.97614509999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-12-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Philosophy"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A county courthouse (built 1890-1892) on the public square and a county jail (built 1893-1895) a short distance away, both in Cameron, Milam County, Texas. The jail now serves as the county museum.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the pair have both architectural and historical significance. The courthouse is an outstanding example of Renaissance Revival design, and the jail's Romanesque Revival design draws on medieval military architecture to suggest strength. Both have been centers of law and order activity in the county.","narrative":"Two county buildings in Cameron, Texas, form this listing: a courthouse on the public square and a jail a few blocks away. The courthouse, designed by the Austin firm Larmour and Watson and accepted in April 1892, is a cruciform Renaissance Revival building with pilasters in colossal order, porticos and pediments on all four fronts. In the 1930s its central tower, sheet metal trim and statue of the Goddess of Justice were removed, and a stone parapet replaced the roof balustrade. It is the fourth courthouse to serve the county and still houses county offices. The jail, built by the Pauly Jail Building and Manufacturing Company for $18,883, is a Romanesque Revival cruciform of St. Louis pressed brick with crenelated walls, corner turrets and a central tower. Its iron-cage cells survive on the upper floors, and the sheriff's quarters below now hold museum displays. Together they represent late nineteenth-century county government and law enforcement.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Courthouse: Larmour & Watson (architects; contract to Lee and Plummer); Jail: Pauly Jail Building & Manufacturing Co.","architectural_style":"Renaissance Revival (courthouse); Romanesque Revival (jail)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The courthouse remains in use as county government offices; the jail is now the Milam County Museum, with its upper-level cells intact and open for visitation.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.726544-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/48/9730/40973048/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/77001460.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001460/3e3ee0088d-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001460/3e3ee0088d-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milam_county_courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Larry D. Moore</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Milam_county_courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973048","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milam_County_Courthouse_and_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6850468"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/milam-county/milam-county-courthouse-and-jail-77001460/"}