Officials Vow Fight to Keep Fed Courthouse Open

Lufkin area officials and others say they are girding their loins for a fight to keep the government from closing the Lufkin Federal Courthouse.

The familiar red brick building on North Third St. was originally built to be the Lufkin Post Office.  It has served as a federal office building and federal courthouse since the 1980s, and is named for Lufkin attorney Ward Burke.

In a cost cutting drive, the federal judiciary is thinking of closing dozens of courtrooms across the country.

A spokesman says “The federal judiciary is going through an aggressive cost containment effort because the money Congress has provided for the operating expenses for the courts has been essentially frozen the last three years.”

Lufkin attorneys and others say the Lufkin Federal Courthouse serves a wide area of east Texas, and they're organizing a regional letter writing campaign they hope will convince the government to keep it open.

via Officials vow to fight to keep Lufkin’s federal courthouse open - The Lufkin Daily News: Local & State.

The Lufkin Federal Courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988, but that won't keep it open if the government decides to close it.