100 E. Houston, Marshall
Sanborn Maps:
National Register
The Old Federal Post Office building, now known as the Sam B. Hall Federal Courthouse was listed on the National Register in 2001.Architectural Survey
Architectural Survey
The Old Post Office building is a one-story, brick Neoclassical structure. It is a rectangular bulidling with a flat roof, dentiled cornice, and a recessed central bay that is divided by four Ionic columns. Above the central bay overhang there is a parapet with a blank cartouche, which is centered above the recessed entrance. The remainder of the roof line is unadorned. The windows are not historic.
Historical Background
Although the first post offce in Marshall was established in 1846, the Old Post Office building was not built until 1914, which was designed by the Office of the Superivsing Architect for the U.S. Treasury Department under the direction of Supervising Architect, Oscar Wenderoth. It served as the U.S. post office in Marshall for forty-seven years until it was turned into a federal courthouse. The first postmaster of the new post office was Horace C. Blalock who had worked at the post office since 1906.
According to the National Register file, the old post office building served Marshall until the 1960s when the government constructed a new, larger post office away from the town's center and more accessible to the residential areas. The Old Post Office buildling was remodeled and converted into a federal courthouse in 1964. Although the inside of the building was completely gutted and re-done, the exterior retains its original integrity.
