Anderson County Courthouse
National Register of Historic Places

Anderson County Courthouse

Palestine, Anderson County, Texas
Listed
September 27, 1992
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
92001256

About this property

The Anderson County Courthouse is a historic courthouse located at 1 Public Square in Palestine, Anderson County, Texas. The Beaux-Arts style building was erected atop the highest hill in Palestine. Austin architects Charles Henry Page and Louis Charles Page designed the structure. Workers oversaw the erection in 1913 and 1914, and the finished building dedicated on December 20, 1914, at a cost of approximately $250,000. Anderson County was created by the Texas Legislature on March 24, 1846, and named for former Republic of Texas Vice-president Kenneth L. Anderson. The first Anderson County Courthouse was a one-story wood-frame structure built in 1847. It was replaced by a two-story brick courthouse in 1856. The third courthouse, built of brick and completed in 1886, by noted Texas courthouse architect Wesley Clark Dodson (1829–1914) of Waco. It was destroyed by arson in 1913 purportedly to destroy incriminating documents. The current Anderson County Courthouse is the fourth structure to serve as the seat of Anderson County government. The courthouse uses a Beaux-Arts bi-axial arrangement with a rotunda crowned by an inner art glass dome with an outer dome surmounted by Lady Justice. The building is three stories with a raised basement. It is finished in brick, rock and terra cotta. The design includes projecting porticos with pediments on all four elevations each with six ionic columns. The courthouse underwent major restoration in 1986 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 1992.

Location

1 Public Sq.
Palestine, Anderson County, Texas
31.76478, -95.62607

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Anderson County Jail
Industrial
0.1 mi
First Presbyterian Church
Early Republic
0.2 mi
Old Town Residential Historic District
Listed
0.3 mi
Mount Vernon African Methodist Episcopal Church
Civil War
0.3 mi
Post Office-Palestine
Industrial
0.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Anderson County Courthouse listed on the National Register?

Anderson County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 27, 1992.

What type of historic resource is Anderson County Courthouse?

Anderson County Courthouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Anderson County Courthouse?

The period of significance for Anderson County Courthouse is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Anderson County Courthouse?

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