{"nrhp_refnum":"96000937","name":"Smith County Jail, 1881","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"309 Erwin St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tyler","county":"Smith County","state":"TX","lat":32.35932169900008,"lon":-95.29761718899994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-08-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Politics/Government"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2-story, T-shaped Italianate brick jail at 309 East Erwin Street in Tyler, Smith County, Texas, built between September 1880 and April 1881 to a design by architect Eugene T. Heiner, with Henry Kane as builder.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the jail played a pivotal role in county government (Criterion A, Politics/Government) and is a fine local example of late Victorian Italianate architecture (Criterion C). It was the county's fourth facility built to hold prisoners and the work of Heiner, a architect known for jail and courthouse designs. It retains a high level of integrity for its 1881-1916 period of significance.","narrative":"Built between 1880 and 1881 on East Erwin Street in Tyler, this two-story, T-shaped brick building served as Smith County's jail until 1916. Architect Eugene T. Heiner, who specialized in jails and courthouses across Texas, designed it, and Henry Kane built it for $11,239. Its hand-made brick walls are coated in stucco scored to imitate cut stone, and Italianate details include quoins, stilted arch hood moldings with keystones, and a bracketed sheet-metal cornice under a slate hip roof. A second floor was added to the cell block in 1894. After the county sold the building in 1916, it became a hotel and received wooden porches and a 1933 new facade. Historic Tyler, Inc. bought it in 1986 and removed later additions, and a 1993 rehabilitation restored its early appearance. The building is significant for its role in local government and as a well-preserved example of late Victorian jail architecture.","period_of_significance":"1881-1916","architect_builder":"Heiner, Eugene (architect); Kane, Henry (builder)","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Italianate","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Rehabilitated in 1993, described as in excellent condition, and now used as a law office.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.86235-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/9733/40973361/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/96000937.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000937/3014f0d2a8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000937/3014f0d2a8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Renelibrary","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SmithCountyJail1.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:SmithCountyJail1.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973361","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q110002628"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/smith-county/smith-county-jail-1881-96000937/"}