The Wharton County Courthouse was built in 1889 in a Second Empire style as designed by noted Texas architect Eugene Thomas Heiner. The county capitol was rededicated in 2007 following a restoration project that included the demolition of the 1940s additions that had surrounded the building. The renewed exterior resulted in a replicated pressed metal shingle roof and a clock … [Read more...] about Wharton County Courthouse
Monuments of Justice
Schleicher County Courthouse
The Schleicher County Courthouse was designed by Henry T. Phelps in a stately Classical Revival Style and was completed in 1924. The county, originally part of the Bexar Land District, was created in 1887. Organization was stalled due to minimal population; consequently, the county was attached to Kimble and Menard counties for judicial purposes. The county was officially … [Read more...] about Schleicher County Courthouse
Angelina County Courthouse
Designed in a Modern style by Wilbur Kent, the Angelina County Courthouse was built of brick, limestone, and steel in 1955. The county’s first session of court convened at the home of Isaac Dunagan. In The Texas Courthouse Revisited, June Rayfield Welch provides an interesting account of one legal battle: An early trial was held beneath a huge tree with the jury seated on … [Read more...] about Angelina County Courthouse
Victoria County Courthouse
Victoria County has been home to four courthouses, if you count the hand-hewn log church used by the first Commissioners Court in 1837. According to June Rayfield Welch, author of “The Texas Courthouse Revisited,” a petition was presented to the court asking that “…some other Court House be procured than the one now occupied as such that being the property of the Roman … [Read more...] about Victoria County Courthouse
Bee County Courthouse
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