{"nrhp_refnum":"98000692","name":"Anderson County Jail","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"704 Avenue A.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Palestine","county":"Anderson County","state":"TX","lat":31.764226542000074,"lon":-95.62689638299997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-06-11","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 3-story Art Deco county jail at 704 Avenue A in Palestine, Anderson County, Texas, built in 1931 to designs by local architect Theo S. Maffitt. It sits on a corner lot diagonally from the county courthouse.","why_significant":"The nomination argues local significance under Criterion C in the area of Architecture as a rare example of the Art Deco style in Palestine. Its stepped parapet, zigzag and chevron door surrounds and stylized pilasters illustrate the style. It also retains a high degree of integrity and symbolizes local government and law enforcement.","narrative":"Anderson County Jail is a three-story brick and cast concrete building at 704 Avenue A in Palestine, Texas, completed in 1931. It stands on a corner lot in the original town site, diagonally from the county courthouse. County commissioners ordered a new jail after deciding the 1879-1880 brick jail was unsafe and inadequate, with a budget capped at $60,000. Local architect Theo S. Maffitt designed it, and Campbell and White of Tyler built it. The design uses Art Deco forms, including a stepped parapet, zigzag and chevron door surrounds, and stepped pilasters, with the most prominent ornament on the entrance porch. It is considered a rare example of the style in Palestine and has changed little on the exterior. The jail served as the main county lockup until the mid-1980s, sat largely unused for a time, and was converted to a juvenile detention center in 1992.","period_of_significance":"1931","architect_builder":"Maffitt, Theo S. (architect); Campbell & White (builder)","architectural_style":"Art Deco","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Currently serves as the county's juvenile detention center after conversion in the early 1990s; exterior survives with few alterations.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:23.200949-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/60/9678/40967860/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/98000692.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000692/48f103c691-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000692/48f103c691-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Michael Barera","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palestine_August_2017_37_(Anderson_County_Jail).jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Michael Barera</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:Palestine_August_2017_37_(Anderson_County_Jail).jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40967860","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q107321087"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/texas/anderson-county/anderson-county-jail-98000692/"}