ONLY -- Two-story Building in Loving County -- Mentone, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 31° 42.400 W 103° 35.915
13R E 632796 N 3508776
The Loving County Courthouse, which serves Texas' least populated county in the USA, is the only two-story building in the entire county (around 677 sq mi / 1,753 sq km).
Waymark Code: WMT6XZ
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/05/2016
Views: 4
Loving County, in Texas, is often referred to as the least populous county in the USA: it had 82 registered residents as of the 2010 census. Owing partly to its small and dispersed population, it also has the highest median per capita and household income of any county in Texas. Its county seat and only community is Mentone (pop of 16 people), where the county's courthouse prominently resides along the main TX-302 thoroughfare.
Built in 1935 by architect Evan J. Wood of Pecos, Texas, the courthouse is a Moderne Style two-story brown brick and tile building set in the middle of a sparsely landscaped block. It is nearly devoid of ornament, and serves as a stark example of a Depression-era governmental building.
Despite its relatively low-key features, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2006, mainly for its "[standing] as the lone symbol of county government and [serving] as the visual and social focal point for the town of Mentone." In its original NRHP submission (Page 7, see online copy below), the following was noted:
"County courthouses are the preeminent building type associated with local government in Texas, and are often the most prominent and sophisticated buildings of the counties in which they stand. The 1935 Loving County Courthouse is the only 2-story building in the least populated county in the United States."
The original nomination form to the US National Register of Historic Places is available online at following Texas Historical Commission FTP site -- Just preface "ftp:" to the following URL since waymarking.com does not resolve ftp URL's and defaults it to "http:"): //ftp.thc.state.tx.us/nr_program/Loving%20County%20Courthouse%20NR.pdf)
Type of documentation of superlative status: US National Register of Historic Places nomination form
Location of coordinates: Mentone, TX
Web Site: [Web Link]
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