San Augustine County Courthouse

The courthouse is the third built for the county. The first was erected in 1854, long after the county was established in 1834. In those early years, county officials first met in a hotel from from 1837-1840 and then in a customs house until 1854. Originally, the county planned to renovate the customs house but the idea to build the first courthouse, a simple two-story brick building, was proposed in 1848. It was used until 1890 when it was demolished to make way for the next courthouse, an attractive two-story Italianate building.

The current courthouse was proposed in 1927 and the previous one was razed. Construction was completed the next year. It is the only courthouse Shirley Simons designed but he is credited with designing a number of private and public buildings in the region including the Tyler City Hall, the Federal Courthouse and Post Office in Tyler, Mother Frances High School in Tyler, and Central Ward School in Lufkin, where he was based. Pinckney's statue was installed in 1936, the year of the state's centennial celebration. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004 (the jail is included in the listing). It is also a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and a State Antiquities Landmark.

"San Augustine County Courthouse." The Historical Marker Database. Accessed November 2, 2020. https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=30642.

"San Augustine County Courthouse - San Augustine." Texas Historical Commission. Accessed November 2, 2020. https://www.thc.texas.gov/preserve/projects-and-programs/texas-historic-courthouse-preservation/restored-courthouses/san-augustine.

Vaughn, Hannah. "San Augustine County Courthouse and Jail." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. August 20, 2004. https://catalog.archives.gov/OpaAPI/media/40973310/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_TX/04000892.pdf.