{"nrhp_refnum":"79002911","name":"Bandera County Courthouse and Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq., 12th and Maple Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bandera","county":"Bandera County","state":"TX","lat":29.72583776500005,"lon":-99.07248449199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-10-31","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A group of three county government buildings in Bandera, Texas: the 1890-91 limestone courthouse on the public square, the 1869 two-story limestone building used as courthouse from 1877 to 1891, and the 1881 stone jail.","why_significant":"The three buildings, all built of local materials, show the post-Civil War boom-town growth of Bandera and the county's progression from temporary log quarters to more permanent public buildings. They include a locally adapted Second Renaissance Revival courthouse by B.F. Trester, Jr. and a jail designed by Alfred Giles. They remain landmarks to townspeople.","narrative":"Three stone buildings in Bandera, Texas, record how the county's public facilities grew after the Civil War. The centerpiece is the three-story limestone courthouse of 1890-91, designed by San Antonio architect B.F. Trester, Jr., with a central clock tower and a classical portico. Two blocks east stands a vernacular limestone building from 1869, purchased by the county in 1877 and used as the courthouse until 1891. Beside it is the 1881 jail, designed by Alfred Giles, with a castellated parapet and two saw- and file-proof cages. It closely followed Giles's Bexar County Jail but at a smaller scale. The courthouse received a stone office addition and new windows in 1966, yet its mass still shapes the small town. The old courthouse has housed commercial tenants and offices, and the old jail has served as a veterans hall, a Soil Conservation Service office and now a museum. All three were built from local materials.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"B. F. Trester, Jr.; Alfred Giles","architectural_style":"Second Renaissance Revival (courthouse); vernacular (old courthouse)","criteria":[],"status_note":"The courthouse is in generally excellent condition apart from a need to strengthen the cupola. The old courthouse is leased for office space, and the old jail is a museum.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.392717-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/26/9710/40971026/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79002911.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002911/57431ed5a7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79002911/57431ed5a7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bandera_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:Bandera_county_courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971026","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandera_County_Courthouse_and_Jail","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4854518"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/bandera-county/bandera-county-courthouse-and-jail-79002911/"}