{"nrhp_refnum":"92000225","name":"1915 Taylor County Courthouse","other_names":["5320"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"301 Oak St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Abilene","county":"Taylor County","state":"TX","lat":32.446483701000034,"lon":-99.73314745199997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-03-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick Classical Revival courthouse at 301 Oak Street in Abilene, Taylor County, Texas, built 1913-1915 and designed by George Burnett of Waco.","why_significant":"It represents Abilene's rise as Taylor County's leading city and served as the county seat of government until 1972. It is also presented as an outstanding example of Classical Revival architecture. It is described as Abilene's oldest and most intact governmental building.","narrative":"Standing alone on its block at 301 Oak Street in Abilene, this three-story brick courthouse was built between 1913 and 1915 to replace an earlier county courthouse judged unsafe in a 1913 report. Architect George Burnett of Waco was chosen from four firms considered, and A.Z. Rogers won the construction contract with a low bid of $117,900. The building was designated the county courthouse on May 12, 1915. Giant Ionic columns form a colonnade around the exterior, and walls combine brick, cast stone and terra cotta. It served as the seat of county government until 1972 and is still used for county offices. Its significance rests on its role in showing Abilene's emergence as the county's leading city after the Texas & Pacific Railroad founded the town in 1881, and on its quality as a Classical Revival design. Replacement aluminum windows are the main alteration noted.","period_of_significance":"1913-1939","architect_builder":"Burnett, George","architectural_style":"Classical Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The county still uses the building for government offices. Original wood windows have been replaced with aluminum-frame windows, though the original fenestration remains.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:21.405845-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/14/9701/40970114/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/92000225.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000225/88c2fd6235-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92000225/88c2fd6235-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"Larry D. Moore","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1915_Taylor_County_Courthouse_in_2015.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:1915_Taylor_County_Courthouse_in_2015.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40970114","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110001283"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/taylor-county/1915-taylor-county-courthouse-92000225/"}