About this property
The Jefferson County Courthouse in Beaumont, Texas is one of the tallest courthouses in the state, and is an excellent example of Art Deco architecture. Built in 1931, it is the fourth courthouse built in Jefferson County. It was designed by Fred Stone and Augustin Babin, and is thirteen stories high. In 1981, an annex was added to the west side of the courthouse. The county has had four courthouses. The first building built by the county was a simple wood structure built to serve as the county jail. The second courthouse was built in 1854 and was a simple two story square structure. A third courthouse, a three-story red brick building designed by E.T. Heiner, was built in 1893. By the late 1920s Beaumont had grown so much that the courthouse was inadequate to meet the needs of the people, and by early 1931 the present brick structure was completed. The architects were Fred C. Stone & A. Babin; the sculptor of the frieze panels and other architectural sculpture was Beaumont sculptor Matchett Herring Coe. The building has retained nearly all of its originality over the years, including its marble interior, but in 1981 an annex was added to the west side to increase space. The annex connects to the original courthouse through the basement, first, and second floors. The only public entrance is through the annex due to recent security upgrades. Floors eight through thirteen of the courthouse once served as the county jail, one can tell by the barred windows. Today the space is used for storage. A $22 million restoration project was completed in 2011. Phase one was completed in May 2009 when the copper roof from the 1940s was replaced with a multicolored tile roof, similar to the original. Phase two began August 2010, and cleaned and restored granite and windows from the fifth to 13th floor. National Register of Historic Places listings in Jefferson County, Texas Bradley, Barrie Scardino (2020). Improbable Metropolis: Houston's Architectural and Urban History. Austin: University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-1-4773-2019-8. Kelsey, Mavis P, Sr.; Dyal, Donald H. (1993). The Courthouses of Texas. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 0-89096-546-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Location
Categories
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.
Everything a full report reveals about Jefferson County Courthouse
This page lists Jefferson County Courthouse. A full Aubrey report for an address near it pulls together this listing alongside battlefield records, land patents, and every other historical record within a chosen radius:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Questions about this property
When was Jefferson County Courthouse listed on the National Register?
Jefferson County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 16, 1982.
What type of historic resource is Jefferson County Courthouse?
Jefferson County Courthouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Jefferson County Courthouse?
The period of significance for Jefferson County Courthouse is recorded as the industrial era, specifically around 1931.
Can I research the history near Jefferson County Courthouse?
Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Jefferson County Courthouse will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
More in Jefferson County
Historic places, battles, and census history across Jefferson County.
Explore JeffersonCounty ›Research the history near this site
An Aubrey US report for an address near Jefferson County Courthouse will include this listing alongside battlefield records and other historical sources within your chosen radius.