San Augustine Commercial Historic District
Why it's listed
San Augustine's commercial core is a 14.2-acre district of 71 resources centered on the courthouse square in East Texas. It sits inside the mile-square town plat laid out in 1833, and the original street grid is the oldest surviving feature. The oldest building is the three-story Romanesque Revival Hollis Building of 1889, the only structure on Columbia Street to survive an 1890 fire. Most of the district followed the arrival of the railroad in 1901, which turned the town into a shipping point for lumber and farm products and sparked a building boom lasting into the 1920s. Typical buildings are small one-story brick commercial blocks built by local craftsmen. Landmarks include the 1927 Georgian Revival courthouse designed by T. Shirley Simons, Sr., the 1893 jail, the 1910 Masonic Hall, a circa 1938 bus station, the 1940 Art Moderne Knight Parker Building and the 1941 WPA-built city hall. A stretch of the Old San Antonio Road runs through it.
Significance in brief: The district shows how San Augustine's downtown grew after a major 1890 fire and especially after the railroad arrived in 1901, which brought a building boom that lasted into the 1920s. It keeps the 1833 street grid and a mix of Romanesque Revival, Georgian Revival, Art Deco, Art Moderne and International style buildings. It also includes institutional landmarks such as the 1927 courthouse and the 1941 WPA-built city hall.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 07000269, listed April 3, 2007. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly bounded by Main St., Montgomery St., Congress St., Broadway, Columbia St., property lines and Golden Way, San Augustine |
|---|---|
| County | San Augustine County |
| Listed | April 3, 2007 |
| Reference number | 07000269 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | T. Shirley Simons, Sr. (1927 courthouse); Raiford Stripling (1976 jail conversion); most buildings by local carpenters and contractors |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian (Queen Anne); Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals (Colonial, Georgian, Romanesque, Greek, Classical, Spanish Colonial); Modern Movement (Art Moderne, Art Deco, International Style) |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most properties are in good to fair condition; the district retains a high degree of integrity. Current uses include retail, banks, a theater, offices, the county courthouse and a lodge. |
| Acreage | 14.2 |
| Within district | San Augustine Residential Historic District |
| Coordinates | 31.53007, -94.11056 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 07000269.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikidata Q109999979
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.