The Lamar County Courthouse, designed by architects Sanguinet & Staats, represents an unusual fusion of Classical Revival with heavy Romanesque details, arches, and columns.
After a fire destroyed most of downtown Paris in 1916, the damaged 1896 courthouse was de-constructed to provide a foundation and salvage granite for the current 1917 courthouse. The records vault, which pre-dates the 1896 courthouse by seven years, survived the fire and was incorporated into an annex for the 1917 courthouse.
Lamar received both a planning grant in Round II and a full restoration grant in Round III. The restoration included removing non-historic partitions and dropped ceilings throughout the building, opening the courtroom to its original two-story configuration, and restoring its balcony and the plaster and stencil work throughout the corridors, stairwells, and courtroom.
The restoration was completed in June 2006.
Before and After Restoration
Photo Gallery
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Corner view of the Lamar County Courthouse. Photo: Wayne Wendel.
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Fun Facts
