{"nrhp_refnum":"80004074","name":"Austin County Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"36 S. Bell St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Bellville","county":"Austin County","state":"TX","lat":29.94941014400007,"lon":-96.25772936899995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-11-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Romanesque Revival county jail at 36 S. Bell Street in Bellville, Austin County, Texas, built in 1896 by F. B. and W. S. Hull of Dallas as general contractors for the Pauly Jail Building Company.","why_significant":"The nomination argues that the fortress-like jail is a strong example of Romanesque Revival design with medieval castle details, a style popular for important public buildings in the late 19th century. It is the second jail to serve Austin County, one of the earliest areas of Anglo settlement in Texas, and has served continuously as the county jail.","narrative":"Built in 1896 one block south of the courthouse square in Bellville, the Austin County Jail is a three-story Romanesque Revival building with a cruciform plan and a fourth-floor tower at the center. A rusticated limestone base supports dark red, hard-burned brick walls. Cylindrical bartizans with conical roofs and battlemented parapets give it a castle-like look. Arched porches flank the front, leading to the jail office and the jailkeeper's quarters, while the upper floors hold detention cells. The fourth floor was designed as a gallows and was used once, in 1901. County commissioners declared the earlier jail unsafe in 1896 and sought bids for a replacement. F. B. and W. S. Hull of Dallas built it as general contractors for the Pauly Jail Building Company, and no architect is credited. It is nearly identical to the 1893 Milam County Jail. It has served continuously as the county jail and is significant for its architecture and its place in the history of an early Texas settlement area.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"F. B. and W. S. Hull, Dallas (builders; general contractors for the Pauly Jail Building Company)","architectural_style":"Romanesque Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"Remains in use as the Austin County Jail; the living quarters have been modernized while the jail facilities and exterior remain intact. Condition is checked as good, unaltered, original site.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:18.798717-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/18/9710/40971018/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/80004074.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004074/ae4a25ed35-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004074/ae4a25ed35-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Austin_county_jail_2008.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:Austin_county_jail_2008.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40971018","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107317573"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/austin-county/austin-county-jail-80004074/"}