The Bee County Courthouse, designed by William C. Stephenson and Fritz Heldenfels, was completed in 1912 for $72,050 and was expanded in 1950. Bee County’s first court session was, in a word, primitive. The courthouse was fashioned of pickets, a clapboard roof, and a dirt floor, with a dry goods box serving as a bench. There were too few men to constitute a jury, so court … [Read more...] about Bee County Courthouse
Monuments of Justice
Ward County Courthouse
The Ward County Courthouse was built in 1940 in a Moderne style as designed by Townes & Funk. The Texas Legislature carved Ward County from Tom Green County in 1887. The county was organized in 1892 with Barstow as its county seat. The Pioneer Canal Company housed county business until the completion of a sandstone courthouse and jail in 1893. The courthouse was open for … [Read more...] about Ward County Courthouse
Armstrong County Courthouse
Armstrong County has been home to two courthouses. The current temple of justice was built in 1912 in a Classical Revival style as designed by Elmer George Withers. The original county capitol was erected in 1890 for a mere $2,500. According to June Rayfield Welch, author of “The Texas Courthouse Revisited,” the courthouse was so poorly constructed “that citizens predicted a … [Read more...] about Armstrong County Courthouse
Walker County Courthouse
Walker County’s first Commissioners Court meeting was conducted July 27, 1846, in the upper story of the home of Harvey Randolph; the home was used by the court until the first courthouse was completed in 1853. Pleasant Gray, founder and settler of the county seat of Huntsville, donated the site for the first official temple of justice, a brick building that eventually … [Read more...] about Walker County Courthouse
Travis County Courthouse
A log cabin reportedly served as the inaugural Travis County Courthouse. The first purpose-built courthouse, a $22,292, two-story stone building, stood on what is now Fourth Street between Colorado and Guadalupe. However, this location was found to be inconvenient. The second official home for county government was completed in 1876 for $94,000 at 11th Street and Congress … [Read more...] about Travis County Courthouse