Paris Community Theatre - the Plaza

R. F. Scott building in Paris

Photograph of a fountain in the Paris town square. The words "Gift of J. J. Culbertson, 1927" are carved into the side. The fountain is not running.

Photograph of a historic plaque in Paris, Texas. It reads: "The Paris Fire. 1916. Although Paris was founded in the mid-1840s, many of its historic structures were lost in a fire that destroyed almost half the town in 1916. The blaze started about five o'clock on the afternoon of March 21, 1916, at the S. J. Long warehouse near the southwest city limits. Its cause is unknown, but one theory is that a spark from a switch engine ignited dry grass near the warehouse. Winds estimated at 50 miles per hour soon blew the fire out of control as it burned a funnel-shaped path to the northeast edge of Paris. Firemen from Bonham, Cooper, Dallas, Honey Grove, and Hugo, Okla., helped the Paris Fire Department battle the flames, which were visible up to 40 miles away. The blaze destroyed most of the central business district and swept through a residential area before it was controlled at about sunrise on March 22. Property damage from this fire was estimated at $11,000,000. The structures burned included the federal building and post office, Lamar County Courthouse and jail, City Hall, most commercial buildings, and several churches. Rebuilding was begun quickly as townspeople collected …

United States Post Office and Court House, Paris

Photograph of the First United Methodist Church in Paris, Texas. It was built between 1921 and 1924. It is a three-story stone building with a dome that houses an additional story on the top.

Photograph of a historic plaque in Paris, Texas. It reads: "John James Culbertson, March 16, 1853 - September 27, 1932. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, John James Culbertson grew up in large Northeastern cities. He married Emily Lou Lee of New Jersey in 1882 and soon became a salesman for a cotton product company based in Alabama. During his southern travels, Culbertson saw the potential for profit from cottonseed oil. He moved to Paris and was instrumental in building the first Paris cotton mill about 1884. The company, Paris Oil Works, was sold to American Cotton Oil Trust in 1887, and Culbertson moved to Arkansas to manage a Southern Oil Company Plant. Four years later the Culbertsons returned to Paris, where he built a small cottonseed oil empire through the Paris Oil and Cotton Company, later known as Southland Cotton Oil Company. Culbertson was asked to participate in a master plan for the growth of Paris in 1913. As an influential Texas financier, he was appointed to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas when it was formed in 1914. His nationwide reputation as a cotton producer led President Woodrow Wilson to appoint him to a board …

Photograph of sunset off of Highway 19 south of Paris.

Photograph of 1917 architect and builders engraved face of the cornerstone in down town Paris,Texas.

Photograph of brick buildings at East Houston & North Main Streets in downtown Paris, Texas. The street names are visible on green signs in the center of the image.

Photograph of old Lamar County Courthouse cornerstone from the 1896 courthouse in down town Paris,Texas. The original courthouse burned in the 1916 city fire; this cornerstone is incorporated into the new, 1917 courthouse, which was built on the old foundation in a Classic Revival style. Sanguinet & Staats were the architects.

Photograph of the southeast corner of the Lamar County Courthouse in downtown Paris, Texas including the upper stone detail near the roof. The style of this courthouse is in a universal "Classic" style; however, it has Romanesque features on the first floor level that echoes the 1896 courthouse destroyed by the 1916 fire.

Photograph of the southeast corner of the Lamar County Courthouse in downtown Paris, Texas. The upper floors are in the Classic Revival style.

Photograph of the upper-south entrance of the Classic Revival-style, 1917 Lamar County courthouse. The upper details of the stonework include carved eagles, carved shields, fluted columns, and medallions, set off by quarry-faced limestone walls and pilasters. The words "Lamar County Court House" are written across the front of the building hear the roof and there are light fixtures above the shield over the door.

Photograph of the west end of south side of building of the 1917 Lamar County Courthouse.

Photograph of the Lamar County Courthouse Annex in downtown Paris, Texas.

Photograph of connection between Lamar County Courthouse and the west annex in down town Paris, Texas, including an annex entrance door. The annex exterior was built to be a close match to the courthouse exterior.

Photograph of the Lamar County Courthouse east entrance in downtown Paris, Texas. The cornerstone from the 1896 courthouse at this location is incorporated in the lower-right of the portico. The courthouse has Classic Revival-style architecture, however the entrances are designed similar to the Romanesque style of the old courthouse. The portico has Roman arched openings, short (Syrian) columns, polished red granite columns with carved stone capitals and bases. This offers continuity from old to new and creates a building with mixed styles of architecture.

Photograph of upper southeast corner of the 1916 First National Bank building located on the Plaza Square in down town Paris,Texas.

Photograph of Lamar County Veterans' Memorial located on the courthouse lawn.

Photograph of Wold War I Veterans Memorial on the south east courthouse lawn.

Photograph of the light fixture above the south entrance of the Lamar County Courthouse in downtown Paris, Texas.

Photograph of Confederate Veteran Memorial Statue on the courthouse lawn in Paris, Texas. Besides the statue of a soldier, there are busts of four Confederate leaders around the base, sculpted by Coppini.

Photograph of a water tower in Paris, Texas. Another building is visible in the foreground.