 |
| The Route: North Texas Counties |
David Billingsley accompanied me on this mid-July journey to north Texas. The weather man predicted sunny skies and no rain. So we left Houston at 4:00 am and headed north on I-45. We stopped in Madisonville and grabbed a McDonald's breakfast and continued on toward Fort Worth, our first stop of the day. We turned left at US287 in Ennis and arrived in Fort Worth a little before 9:00 am. I had photographed the Tarrant County in April of 2012. However, the clock tower was enveloped in scaffolding and I put it on the re-do list. Arriving in Fort Worth, clouds began moving in and it look more ominous than predicted. I quickly photographed the exterior of the courthouse and then went inside.
The Tarrant County courthouse is the largest historical courthouse in Texas. It was built in 1893-1895. It was designed by Gunn & Curtis and cost $408,840. The citizens of Tarrant County thought it was such an extravagance that they elected an entire new county commissioners court after it was built. I think it is one of the most elegant courthouses in Texas. The THC plaque says it is made from "red granite" but is it is more of a pink. It closely resembles the Texas Capitol building in Austin.
 |
| Tarrant Co Courthouse |
At the front entrance each person is screened by two deputies at a metal detector. One of those deputies, Mark Mahon. was kind enough to show me a workman's poke that he left in the metal staircase on 2nd floor during construction. It is still there. Another deputy and court bailiff, Freddy Weil, let me inside the courtroom and said I could take all the photos I wanted.
 |
| Looking down on the 1st floor tile pattern |
The interior of the courthouse is especially striking. The flooring on the first floor has a geometric design into the marble flooring. The dome has a beautiful glass ceiling with the seal of the State of Texas. The courthouse has been beautifully restored to its original state with the addition of air conditioning, updated electrical, and plumbing.
 |
| Stained glass top of dome State of Texas Seal |
 |
| As with many others, Wise County Courthouse dominates the small town |
As I was walking back to the car the clouds to the north looked dark. It was the direction of our next county, Wise County and Decatur, Texas. We headed out of Fort Worth and got on US287. It was about a 45 minute drive to Decatur. I could see the tall J.Riely Gordon courthouse from a mile away. It overshadowed all other buildings in town.
The Wise County courthouse was built in 1896 and it was designed by famed architect, J.Riely Gordon in his Romanesque Revival style. It was built of pink granite and uses Vermont marble on the interior.
 |
| Wise County Courthouse resembles a castle |
The Wise County Historical Society wrote this about the courthouse, "The present Courthouse, located in the middle of the square was constructed at a cost of $110,000.00, which was thought by many to be excessive, and the officials were not re-elected. the architect, J. Riley Gordon, of San Antonio, collected a fee of 5% of the construction cost. Bonds amounting to $110,000.00 were issued on may 16, 1895. The stone was pre-cut and each piece numbered then shipped from Burnet County, Texas. The stones were raised by a windlass pulled by donkeys walking in a circle drawing the rope tight. The building completed in 1896, is of pink granite with interior of Vermont marble, and has been pronounced architecturally perfect. Bids for the Courthouse clock were opened May 14,1896 and was purchased from E Howard & Company, described thus: "No. 1 Hour Strike Tower Clock, $952.00, with bell for same 2,000 lbs., $388.00, total cost $1,340.00" First court was held in the new building in December 1896." from their website: http://www.wisehistory.com/courthouse.html
 |
| Mason work |
If you look at the stone work at the top of this porch pillar, I don't believe that this courthouse could be built today. These were very talented stone masons who built this building.
The one thing that I was disappointed was the courtroom. The ceilings are modern tile type and not the original open expansive courtroom that existed in 1896.
 |
| Wise County Courthouse Courtroom |
 |
| Petrified Wood Texaco Service Station |
On the way into town I had to stop at the Texaco Petrified Wood Service Station. It is very unique.
It began to rain as I got back to the car so we decided not to go to Montague, Texas and the Montague County courthouse. Instead we took SH51 north to Gainesville, Cooke County. It rained most of the way to Gainesville. As we got to the city limits the rain stopped and the clouds receded and it turned out to be a nice day.
 |
| The courthouse clock tower can be seen from blocks away. |
The Cooke County courthouse is a beautiful Beaux Arts style building with a central clock tower. Inside the rotunda and looking up there is a stained glass ceiling. The courthouse was built is 1911 and designed by Lang and Witchell. The interior has been completely remodeled with updated electrical and plumbing to modernize the structure.
 |
| Cooke County Courthouse |
Cooke County was named for William G. Cooke, captain of the New Orleans Greys, a Military volunteer unit of two militia companies that totaled about 120 men that had formed in the city of that name for service in the Texas War of Independence. Their name came from the grey military fatigues they wore. Twenty-three Greys fought and died at the Alamo.
Cooke County was organized in 1848.
 |
| Clock tower and "Art Deco" exterior design |
As with most small Texas towns, the courthouse house is the tallest structure.
We left Gainesville and drive east on US82 to Sherman, Texas, county seat for Grayson County.
The courthouse was built in 1936 and is a Moderne design as is most buildings built during the Depression.
It is built of white limestone and concrete and designed by Voelcker and Dixon, architects.
 |
| Confederate Soldiers Memorial |
 |
| Grayson County Courthouse |
 |
| One fourth of the courthouse square businesses |
 |
| Present Collin County Courthouse |
From Gainesville we got on I35 and headed south to McKinney, Texas. The Collin County courthouse was built in 1979 and is a modern structure of steel and concrete. I was more interested in the 1927 Collin Courthouse which is now the McKinney Performing Arts Center.
 |
| 1927 Collin County Courthouse now the Collin County Performing Arts Center |
We left McKinney and got on the George Bush Parkway (toll road) and headed east. The last stop of the day was in Rockwall, Texas and the Rockwall County historic courthouse. Rockwall has just built a new courthouse but I was not interested in seeing it. This 1940 Moderne style courthouse is built of limestone and located in the historic district of Rockwall, Texas.
The Rockwall courthouse is like so many others, it is shrouded in trees and you can not see the building and all its corners.
We were through for the day and took I635 back to I45 and south to Houston. Both of us were pretty tired and it was all I could do to stay awake with David talking to me. I had him squeeze some water on my hand and I washed my face. We made it back to Houston around 7:00PM after traveling 785 miles.
We were through for the day and took I635 back to I45 and south to Houston. Both of us were pretty tired and it was all I could do to stay awake with David talking to me. I had him squeeze some water on my hand and I washed my face. We made it back to Houston around 7:00PM after traveling 785 miles.
 |
| Historic Rockwall County Courthouse |
No comments:
Post a Comment