{"nrhp_refnum":"97000365","name":"Palo Pinto County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"520 Oak St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palo Pinto","county":"Palo Pinto County","state":"TX","lat":32.767449062000026,"lon":-98.29909159299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1997-04-17","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story Moderne courthouse with Renaissance Revival elements at 520 Oak Street in Palo Pinto, Texas, built 1940-42 by the Work Projects Administration. It is the third courthouse on the site.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the building meets Criterion C in Architecture at the local level. It combines Moderne styling typical of the 1930s with Renaissance Revival elements, a pairing described as unusual. It retains integrity and has not been altered.","narrative":"Palo Pinto County Courthouse, at 520 Oak Street in the small county seat of Palo Pinto, is a three-story sandstone building completed in 1942. Fort Worth architect Preston M. Geren, Sr., designed it with M.A. Howell of Palo Pinto as associate, and Work Projects Administration labor built it at a cost of $250,000. It is the county's third courthouse on the same square, following frame and sandstone buildings of 1857 and 1882. Stone from the 1882 courthouse was recut and reused for the walls and the surrounding fence. The H-plan building has a hipped red slate roof over the main block and flat-roofed wings with quoins and metal windows. Its Moderne design is paired with Renaissance Revival features such as a pediment and arched entrance, a combination described as unusual. Inside are oak trim, terra cotta flooring and a grand staircase. The courthouse remains in use and largely unaltered.","period_of_significance":"1940-1942","architect_builder":"Geren, Preston Murdoch, Sr. (architect); Howell, M.A. (associated architect)","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Moderne, with Renaissance Revival elements","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Still used as the county courthouse; the main building has not been altered and is maintained in excellent condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.851808-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/44/9731/40973144/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/97000365.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000365/f51cdd5600-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/97000365/f51cdd5600-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Mark Fisher","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0011Palo_Pinto_County_Courthouse_Full_S_Texas.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Mark Fisher</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0011Palo_Pinto_County_Courthouse_Full_S_Texas.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40973144","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107320374"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/palo-pinto-county/palo-pinto-county-courthouse-97000365/"}