Texas Courthouse Trails : West Texas Counties: Kerr, Kimble, Sutton, Schleicher and Menard

West Texas Hill Country Counties:
Kerr, Kimble, Sutton, Schleicher and Menard

I added five more counties Wednesday, August 7th making a total of 152/254. These counties would be some of the farthest away from Houston on a day round trip. We started early as I picked up David Billingsley at 4am in southeast Houston and drove up I-45 to I-10 and headed west. We stopped in Seguin for gas and breakfast and made our way around San Antonio on Loop 410.

We arrived in Kerrville around 9:00am. The weather was warm and cloudy, however the sun had not dried up the low level clouds yet. The Kerr County courthouse in Kerrville is located about 2 miles south of I-10 in the central business district. It occupies a large block with ample parking around the circular street. I found a shady vacant spot and parked. I immediately noticed a cannon complete with wheels. The marker says it is to honor the veterans of Kerr County. I suppose it beats a granite stone marker.

The Kerr County courthouse was built in 1926 designed by Adams and Adams and it was built of brick and concrete. The historical marker says it is a Beaux-Arts style. The county and county seat get their name from James Kerr, one of the signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence and one of the first American settlers on the Guadalupe River.

YO Ranch Resort Hotel

We got back on SH16, Fredericksburg Rd and back to I-10. Kerrville is home to the famous YO Ranch. The famous ranch has a western styled hotel on the main highway SH16.

We got back on I-10 and headed west to Junction, county seat of Kimble County. Junction is a couple of miles off the interstate and separated by a beautiful steel bridge over the South Llano River. We knew we were in cowboy country after crossing the bridge we came to the first business, "Cowboy Cottage", a hardware store.

The Kimble County courthouse was built in 1929 in Moderne style with some Art Deco designs on the exterior. It was designed by Henry Phelps. There is a large clock on all four facades which are not working. The interior flooring and half wall is a brown mosaic tile.

Art Deco Eagle (a common courthouse design)

Downtown Junction

Non-working Clock

Sheriff Hilario Cantu

As I was leaving the courthouse I ran into Sheriff Hilario Cantu, who asked about my camera. I showed him my retired Houston Police id badge and we instantly became friends. He said that he had been elected in 2012 after filling out the remaining term for the prior sheriff. Sheriff Cantu is from the Eagle Pass border area of Texas and began his law enforcement career by catching narcotics smugglers. He moved up to Junction and loves the county and the country. He laments the fact that the county does not have the money to improve the courthouse and sheriff's office. But he is not discouraged. He has an interdiction force along I-10 and it's only a matter of time that they catch a money haul south. He's my kind of sheriff and I'm glad we have lawmen in Texas like him.

Sutton County Courthouse

Our day journey continued as we drove west on I-10 to Sonora, county seat of Sutton County.

The Sutton County courthouse is the prize of the day. It is a beautiful Second Empire structure designed by Oscar Ruffini and built in 1891. It is built of white limestone with red mansard roof. The building has four similar entrances. The actual front of the building is partially obscured by trees so I used the rear facade for the photo. What makes this courthouse so beautiful is the courthouse grounds. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with many shade trees.

Mansard Roof

Sutton County was organized in 1890 and named after John S. Sutton, a Texas Ranger, soldier in the Mexican War, and a cavalry colonel killed in the Battle of Val Verde during the Civil War.

The Sutton County courthouse is a fully restored courthouse in 2001 as part of the Texas Historical Courthouse Preservation Project.

Courtroom

Original rear exit door knob

Wall design in the courtroom

Sutton County Clerk's Safe

The Sutton County Auditor, Maura H. Weingant, was kind enough to make her safe available to me for a photo. It is a Diebold Safe found in many of the older counties.

We turned north from Sonora on US277 and headed to a part of Texas that I had never seen. Our destination was Eldorado, county seat of Schleicher County.

The Classical Revival style courthouse was designed by Henry T. Phelps and is made from Texas stone. It sits at the intersection of US190 and US277 on a large square block that is nicely landscaped. The courthouse has four entrances. After I photographed the exterior I was about the go inside to see the interior, however the courthouse was closed until 1:00 PM. I walked across the grounds and wandered down the main street. There are some historic buildings in that block. One was a bank building built in 1910. I also found a building with a mural painted on the side depicting Eldorado.

I walked back to the courthouse at 1:00PM, found it open and went inside to photograph the interior. I met the Schleicher County Judge, Charlie Bradley. I told him about my project to photograph all the Texas courthouses and he insisted on helping me with his courthouse. I learned that Judge Bradley is a graduate of Texas Tech University with a degree in photojournalism. He moved back to Eldorado to take care of his parents. He opened a photography business in Eldorado concentrating on portraits. He said that he does not have a digital camera but was looking at buying a Nikon. We talked cameras for minutes and I think he really wants the D800. We went inside the district courtroom. The most unique feature about this courthouse was right above the judge's bench, a 2'x4' stained glass window with "Lady Justice" outlined in blue. It is the only one I have seen in the 152 courthouses I've been to. Judge Bradley lowered all the shades in the courtroom and hung up the county seal for the courtroom photo. I thanked him for his help and I headed back to the car.

We bid farewell to Eldorado and headed east to Menard, county seat of Menard County. There's not much to say about the Menard County courthouse. It was built in 1931 in Moderne style and composed of brick and concrete. It was designed by Withers and Thompson.

Menard County Courthouse

Menard Courthouse Courtroom

A block from the courthouse a string of closed businesses

It was 2:30PM when we drove out of Menard and we headed south on US83 back to Junction. The scenery is beautiful along the highway with rolling cedar hills, fenced ranches, and miles and miles of miles and miles. We arrived back in Juction, got a tank of gas and headed back to Houston.

We arrived at David's around 7:15PM and I made it home a little after 8:00pm. The mileage for the trip was 879 miles, in 17 hours.