National Register Listing

Gonzales Commercial Historic District

a.k.a. See Also:Gonzales County Courthouse;Gonzales County Jail

Roughly bounded by Water, Saint Andrew, Saint Peter, and Saint Matthew Sts., Gonzales, TX

The Gonzales Commercial Historic District represents the area that developed as the focal point for commercial and governmental activity in Gonzales during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally laid out in a cruciform plan in 1825 and officially recognized in 1832, the town grew from its colonial beginnings to become the seat of Gonzales County in 1837. The commercial district, centered in the Inner Town plat around the courthouse, became the economic hub of the county, slowly and steadily becoming a regional trade center based on cattle, cotton, and other agricultural commodities. With the arrival of the railroad in the 1880s, commercial growth in Gonzales peaked at the turn of the century. The period of significance dates from about 1880 to 1940, the estimated construction dates of the earliest and latest Contributing properties. The stone and brick commercial buildings that surround the public squares display the important role that Gonzales played as a prosperous mercantile, trading, and government center during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The buildings themselves reflect types and styles typical of commercial and institutional construction during this period, with many reflecting late Victorian stylistic features. The strong historical associations of the district with the development and evolution of commerce and government in Gonzales support listing under the National Register Criterion in the areas of commerce and politics and government. The district, which has maintained its unique colonial layout, represents the largest and most significant collection of late 19th and early 20th-century commercial and institutional building types in the county, in the area of architecture and community planning and development.

Local significance of the district:
Architecture; Commerce; Community Planning And Development; Politics/government

Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.