{"nrhp_refnum":"80004138","name":"Kendall County Courthouse and Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Public Sq.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Boerne","county":"Kendall County","state":"TX","lat":29.794711780000057,"lon":-98.73082028499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-02-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A county courthouse and a separate county jail on the public square in Boerne, Kendall County, Texas. The courthouse was begun in 1869 and enlarged in 1886 and 1909, and the jail was built in 1887.","why_significant":"The original courthouse section is described as the state's second oldest courthouse still used in its original role, behind only Cass County's 1866 building. The courthouse is also noted for conservative German-influenced design and fine craftsmanship, and for its long role as a center of county activity. The jail is cited as one of the oldest in the state still serving its original function.","narrative":"On the public square in Boerne, Kendall County's courthouse and jail record more than a century of local government in a heavily German-settled part of Texas. The courthouse began in 1869 as a plain one-story stone building. In 1886 a second story and gallery were added, with a Mansard roof and Victorian trim. In 1909 architect Alfred Giles designed an addition with rough quarry-faced stone, a triple-arched entrance arcade and octagonal wings, matching the earlier stone while contrasting in texture. The 1887 jail, supplied by a St. Louis firm, is a three-story stone cube with the sheriff's quarters on the ground floor and cells above. The nomination highlights the courthouse as the state's second oldest still serving its original purpose, praises its proportions and craftsmanship, and describes its restrained design as a reflection of the county's conservative German community. The jail is likewise noted as one of the state's oldest still used as intended.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Courthouse: S.F. Stendebach (builder, 1869; plans by a Mr. Zoeller), Charles Buckel (1886 second story), Alfred Giles (1909 addition), E.H. Clemens (contractor, 1909); Jail: Pauley Jail Building and Manufacturing Company of St. Louis","architectural_style":"Conservative German-influenced design with Victorian and Mansard elements; Romanesque Revival features in the 1909 addition","criteria":[],"status_note":"Occupied and in use as the county courthouse and jail; the form lists the condition as altered and says the structure was remodeled in 1954.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:19.05515-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/64/9727/40972764/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/80004138.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004138/404a489292-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80004138/404a489292-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Historic_kendall_courthouse_2013.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:Historic_kendall_courthouse_2013.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972764","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall_County_Courthouse_and_Jail_(Texas)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6388897"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/kendall-county/kendall-county-courthouse-and-jail-80004138/"}