{"nrhp_refnum":"79003008","name":"Somervell County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Off TX 144","address_restricted":false,"city":"Glen Rose","county":"Somervell County","state":"TX","lat":32.23500715200004,"lon":-97.75575911999994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1979-08-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Law","Politics/Government","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story limestone county courthouse in Glen Rose, Somervell County, Texas, built in 1893 by John Carmachiel for $13,500 on the site of an unfinished earlier courthouse.","why_significant":"The courthouse has served for almost 86 years as both the seat of justice and a gathering place for community events in one of Texas' smallest counties. Its Richardsonian Romanesque design with General Grant mansarded elements was typical of 1890s civic buildings. Reviewers accepted it for local significance in politics/government and architecture, despite alterations to the clock tower.","narrative":"Built in 1893 in Glen Rose, the Somervell County Courthouse is a two-story building of rough-faced native limestone, designed in a restrained Richardsonian Romanesque manner with a mansarded roof and clock tower borrowed from the General Grant style. John Carmachiel built it for $13,500 after a fire destroyed an earlier, unfinished courthouse on the same site. Arched door and window openings, belt and string courses, and projecting central pediments relieve its plain walls. A tornado in 1902 stripped much of the tower's decoration, and later roofing work further altered its appearance. Beyond its judicial role, the building and its square have hosted revival meetings, dances, fiddlers' contests, holiday celebrations and public meetings. Local figures such as Judge A.J. Hart, who helped create the county in 1875, and attorney Ernest T. Adams worked there. Its long role as a civic and social center supports its local significance.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899, 1900-","architect_builder":"John Carmachiel","architectural_style":"Richardsonian Romanesque with General Grant (mansarded) elements","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as the county courthouse and community gathering site; the clock tower was recently re-covered with dark wooden shingles, with plans to restore its earlier look when funds allow.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.568856-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/9733/40973365/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/79003008.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003008/e5cfea8b9b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/79003008/e5cfea8b9b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervellCourthouse1_(1_of_1).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Renelibrary</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SomervellCourthouse1_(1_of_1).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973365","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q85802014"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/somervell-county/somervell-county-courthouse-79003008/"}