{"nrhp_refnum":"77001478","name":"Val Verde County Courthouse And Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"400 Pecan St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Del Rio","county":"Val Verde County","state":"TX","lat":29.359158642000068,"lon":-100.89709408399995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1977-08-18","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A courthouse built in 1887 and an older jail (ca. 1885) on the public square in the 400 block of Pecan Street, Del Rio, Val Verde County, Texas. The courthouse was designed by Larmour and Watson of Austin.","why_significant":"The nomination cites architectural and historical significance. The courthouse keeps much of its original workmanship despite remodeling, and it is the only courthouse the county seat has had. It and the old jail have been the center of county government for about ninety years, and they are among the best surviving nineteenth-century buildings in the region.","narrative":"Del Rio's county courthouse and its older jail sit on the public square along Pecan Street. The courthouse dates to 1887 and was designed by Larmour and Watson of Austin, with Hood and McLeod contracted to build it for $32,500. Its tan limestone walls are pitch-faced ashlar with cut stone arches, pilasters and pediments. Statues, mansard roofs and corner tower roofs once decorated it, but many were removed, and a third floor was added in 1915 within the original walls. The two-story limestone jail dates to about 1885 and received a three-story addition in 1914. The county seat moved to Del Rio in 1885 after the railroad arrived in 1881, and this is the only courthouse the town has had. The buildings have served county government for about ninety years and still hold offices and courtrooms. A 1956 jail on the square is not counted as historic. The buildings rank among the best surviving nineteenth-century architecture in the area.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Larmour and Watson (courthouse architects); Hood and McLeod (courthouse builders); jail architect unknown","architectural_style":"Classical details with Second Empire elements (Mansardic roofs, since removed or altered)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The courthouse still houses county and district courtrooms and offices. The old jail was remodeled into offices for the tax assessor, tax collector, and justice of the peace. The property is marked occupied and government-owned.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.201586-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/77/9738/40973877/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/77001478.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001478/bf6a6c1b6c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/77001478/bf6a6c1b6c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Carol M. Highsmith","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Val_Verde_County_Courthouse_in_Del_Rio,_Texas_LCCN2014631265.tif\" rel=\"noopener\">Carol M. Highsmith</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Val_Verde_County_Courthouse_in_Del_Rio,_Texas_LCCN2014631265.tif"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973877","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107322718"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/val-verde-county/val-verde-county-courthouse-and-jail-77001478/"}