The Jim Wells County Commissioners Court voted on Dec. 12, 1911, to propose a $70,000 courthouse bond issue that easily passed. The county courthouse cornerstone was laid on July 25, 1912, attracting some 2,500 visitors from as far away as Laredo and San Antonio. According to Bill Morgan, author of Old Friends: Great Texas Courthouses, “Trains steamed in from three directions, … [Read more...] about Jim Wells County Courthouse
Texas County Courthouses
Scurry County Courthouse
Scurry County has been home to two county capitols. The current temple of justice was completed in 1911 in a Texas Renaissance style as designed by Lang & Witchell. The original tower was removed during a remodeling project in 1950. Further changes were made in 1972, essentially burying the 1911 building in granite and giving the courthouse a Modern appearance. The … [Read more...] about Scurry 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
Hamilton County Courthouse
The Hamilton County Courthouse was completed in 1887 for $30,700. The designers created the limestone county capitol using a Second Empire emphasis. Hamilton County struggled to keep a courthouse upright for many years, as every courthouse prior to 1887 burned: The first county home, a converted livery barn, was charred in 1863. A special tax was levied to replace the … [Read more...] about Hamilton County Courthouse
Chambers County Courthouse
Chambers County was carved out of Jefferson and Liberty counties and named in honor of Thomas Jefferson Chambers, the first and only superior judge of Texas before the revolution. The county held its first court session underneath a peach tree in Wallisville, the initial county seat. Commissioners Court moved inside when a frame building was erected in 1859. The structure … [Read more...] about Chambers County Courthouse