Jasper County Courthouse

Texas Courthouses, reproducing the National Register nomination narrative, credits the 1889 central block to architect Eugene T. Heiner, built of brick for $20,000. The 1934 work stuccoed the walls, simplified the roof and added matching two-story wings, giving the building its Neoclassical look; the plaque dates the wings to 1931. The east addition, the Jasper County Building, followed in 1960. The same source calls the 1889 block Italianate in character, though its summary lists Second Empire. The courthouse still holds county offices, with the county courtroom on the second floor of the old block.

What the plaque says

Jasper County Courthouse Jasper County was one of the original twenty-three counties created when the Republic of Texas was established in 1836 following the Texas Revolution. Bevil settlement, established by pioneer John Bevil about 1824, became the seat of government and was renamed Jasper in 1835 in honor of American Revolutionary War hero William Jasper. The first county courthouse on this site, a two-room log structure, was destroyed by fire in 1849. It was replaced by a two-story building, completed about 1854. The present courthouse, constructed of locally made red brick, was completed in 1889. One year later a tower with a four-sided clock and bell was added. Additional wings were built onto the east and west sides of the structure in 1931, and the entire courthouse was covered with stucco. An adjacent office building was erected by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) in 1940, and the courthouse clock tower was removed in a 1957 remodeling project. The Courthouse Square, with its official buildings and landscaped grounds, continues to be a focal point of Jasper County activities. (1988)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Martin Dies, Jr. State Park — 13 mi
  A 705-acre state park on Steinhagen Reservoir at the meeting of the Neches and Angelina rivers, with about 14 miles of paddling trails through sloughs and more than 200 campsites.

More markers nearby

• Jasper County, C. S. A. — steps away
• Jasper "News-Boy" — steps away
• Jasper Public Schools — 0.5 mi
• Site of J.H. Rowe School — 0.7 mi