Replacing the 1903 courthouse by J. Riely Gordon (a domed classical design similar to his Harrison County Courthouse, LT7), Lufkin architect Kent created a scheme based upon classic models. A range of deep, two-story vertical fins extends across the long central block, implying the columns or pilasters of classicism, with a tall, flat “entablature” above. A recessed top floor (former jail) serves as the attic level. Drastic renovations in 1962 removed the clock tower, which had been a further nod to historic forms, and added asymmetrical lateral wings that bracket the deeply shadowed original building.
C. Wilbur Kent (1906–1998), who graduated from the University of Texas in 1932, worked with Shirley Simons in Tyler before forming a brief partnership (1939–1942) with Truett H. Coston (1911–1997) and formed Kent-Marsellos-Scott in the mid-1950s.