Trans-Pecos Courthouses West of San Antonio

Continuing the quest of 254, I planned a trip to the Trans-Pecos area of Texas, west of San Antonio.  It included the counties of Maverick, Kinney, Val Verde, Edwards and Real.  Photo friends David Billingsley and Jay Mangum agreed to go with me.  This would be a round trip from Cypress of over 800 miles.  To get back in time we would have to leave early.

Dave and Jay arrived shortly before 4:00 am at my home in Cypress and after loading the Chevy we drove south down Fry Rd to IH-10 and turned west.  The drive was interrupted at Seguin where we loaded up on McDonald’s breakfast and coffee. The order was to go so we ate on the road.  Our journey took us through San Antonio on IH-10 to IH-35 where we turned south.  We then turned west on US57 and followed it to Eagle Pass is on the border with Mexico on the Rio Grande River.  It was time to gas up the Chevy and find the courthouse.  All my destinations are pre-loaded into the Garmin GPS and all I have to do is give it a new destination.  The Garmin led us directly in front of the Maverick County 1885 courthouse at 500 Quarry St, Eagle Pass, Texas.

Courthouses are often the tallest building in town.

The Romanesque Revival style building is built of brick and stone and painted a light yellow and trimmed in white.  It was completely restored under the Texas Historical Courthouse Preservation Project in 2005 under the auspices of the Texas Historical Commission.  The grounds are landscaped with native palm trees.

The interior is also beautifully restored.  The hard wood floors are present in the hallways and courtroom.  The main door to the courtroom was locked but I found another door unlocked in a conference room which opened into the courtroom.  The courtroom is magnificent with all wood furniture and walls decorated in a deep blue paint with ornamental design at the top and bottom the walls.

Photos were taken of the interior and exterior.  An interesting element we found on the outside was an old motorcycle with side car parked on the street in front of the courthouse.  We finished up with our photos and set the GPS to Brackettville and the Kinney County courthouse.

Just outside Brackettville we found an old concrete water tower close to the highway that looked out of place.  Water is a valuable commodity in this part of Texas and I guess this rancher wanted to insure he had enough to water his herd of cattle.

Brackettville is the county seat for Kinney County.  The county was founded in 1876 and survived after being bypassed by the railroad by supplying cut limestone in a nearby quarry.  The original courthouse of 1879 still remains on the corner. It is now a Masonic lodge.  The 1910 Beaux-Arts courthouse is built of buff brick with red brick on the corners quoins.  There are two octagon shaped towers on the east end and clock tower in the middle. 

The clock mechanism is housed inside the courthouse on the second floor just outside the courtroom. I don’t believe the clock is working or someone forgot to wind it.  The interior walls are decorated with blueprints of the original courthouse.  From the drawings the exterior has been changed over the years. Across the street is  There are also some old black and white photographs of Brackettville and inhabitants from the 1800’s.

The courthouse had a unique pressed metal ceiling.

Brackettville is hurting for commerce.  One of the few establishments we found opened was an old fashioned hardware store, D & D Hardware, just down Ann St from the courthouse.

  

We finished up the Kinney County courthouse and turned east toward Del Rio, county seat of Val Verde County.

Del Rio is also on the border with Mexico and along the Rio Grande. Val Verde County was organized in 1885 and two years later built their one and only courthouse in 1887.  The original style was Second Empire; however the mansard roofs have been modified.  It is built of native limestone.  The historical marker says it is Classical Revival style after it was remodeled.  Each corner of the building has an octagon shaped tower which before remodeling had the steep conical roofs.   The exterior as well as the interior looks as it could stand some restoration.  We soon finished this courthouse and we were headed north to Rocksprings, county seat of Edwards County.

Val Verde County Courthouse, Del Rio, Texas

The drive to Rocksprings took us into the Texas hill country and rolling rock hills.  This terrain is prime deer hunting country as exhibited by the large ranches with the “deer proof” fencing.  We could measure the amount of oil and gas money the land owner receives is directly related to the quality of the fence and entrance gates.  The ranches with the most oil wells have the best gates and fences.

As we turned onto the courthouse square I knew immediately that I would have to return to Rocksprings.  The entire courthouse is being restored and enclosed in scaffolding and fencing.  One of the unique features of this county seat is its original jail built in 1895.  The second floor was built with a trap door for an execution by hanging.

Edwards County Jail with hanging trap door on 2nd floor

Jay and I had lunch in Rocksprings at a Mexican restaurant about a block from the courthouse square.  The beef fajita was very good. Our last courthouse for the day was in Leakey, Texas, pronounced “lakey”, county seat of Real County.  The drive from Rocksprings to Leakey was the most scenic that we have taken, rolling rock hills, rivers, and long distance vistas.

The Real County courthouse was built in 1917 out of local limestone.  The county made an addition to the original building in 1978.  One thing I don’t understand is why the air conditioners were placed in the front of the building.  We finished our photos and headed the Chevy toward Houston.  It would take us about 4 hours to get back to Cypress.

Photographing Courthouses

June 21, 2013

Introduction:  Weather

Hardin County Courthouse

After photographing a few county courthouses around Houston and East Texas I realized that I needed to change the way I was approaching the subject.  My first trips were often spur of the moment decisions with no consideration for the weather.  Some of these first courthouses were photographed with a cloudy sky. Clouds render the sky white or gray.  Many of these courthouses are built of white sandstone or marble and when viewed in the photo have no "pop". I then compared these photos with some courthouses taken with a clear blue sky. What a difference! From that point on I began to plan these trips around a blue sky day.  Most of the time this worked very well because the sunlight gives the courthouse detail and character.  This photo of Hardin County courthouse was taken in a cloudy sky.  It's not far from home and I'll probably do this one over on a blue sky day.

Equipment

I already had a professional camera when I started this project, a Nikon D3s and various high end auto focus lenses such as the Nikon 24-120mm.  I had one complaint with the setup.  The courthouse building did not look as I saw it when I pressed the shutter.  The straight lines on the building would bend toward the middle.  I decided to get a "perspective control lens". This lens allows me to shift the axis of the focal plane up and the building comes out straight. This lens is a Nikon 28mm manually controlled lens; f stop and focus.

You can see the difference in the two photographs. The top was taken with a normal 28mm lens and you can notice the sides are bending toward the middle top.  Using a perspective control lens and shifting the focal plane upward straightens the sides and it is how the eye sees the Henderson County courthouse in Palestine.





Corner View:

I always try and take a photograph from the corner of the building so the viewer has some idea of the depth of the building.

Blanco County Courthouse

Courthouse Restoration Scaffolding:

One of the problems I ran into on occasion after planning the perfect day was arriving at the subject courthouse and finding it surrounded by scaffolding. I found Tarrant, Comal, and McLennan courthouses mired in scaffolding.  Yesterday, June 20, 2013 two friends and I were making the loop around the Trans-Pecos - Texas Hill Country and we arrived in Rock Springs, county seat of Edwards County. The entire courthouse was surrounded with scaffolding.  I'll just have to come back.  These courthouses are part of the Texas Historical Courthouse Restoration Project of the Texas Historical Commission.  I have sense traveled back to New Braunfels and photographed the Comal County courthouse.  The other three are on the list.

Photographing Interiors:

I am fortunate to have a camera that I can push the ISO (film speed) up so that I don't have to use a flash when photographing interiors.  The interiors of some of these courthouses are completely restored and really beautiful works of art.

Lee County Courthouse Courtroom from balcony

San Antonio Area Courthouses

My wife, Mary Alice and I left Houston on Friday morning around 5:30am and headed west.  Our first stop was San Antonio and the Bexar County courthouse.  This courthouse is a Romanesque Revival designed by J Riley Gordon and built in 1895.

Our next stop was Jourdanton, Texas and the Atascosa County courthouse.  This is one of three in Texas designed in the "Mission" style.  We then drove to Castroville and I photographed the old courthouse there which is now the city hall.  We then went further west to Hondo and the Medina County courthouse.  After Hondo we drove north to Bandera and had lunch in Busbee's Barbecue.

We loved the signs in the restaurant, check them out.  After photographing the Bandera County courthouse we drove to Boerne, Texas and the Kendall County courthouse.  I found the old 1909 courthouse open and got a photo of the old courtroom.

We left Boerne and continued east on SH 46 to New Braunfels.  We didn't even stop because the courthouse was covered with scaffolding.  It is being restored.  We continued on to Seguin and the Guadalupe County courthouse.  It is a "Moderne" Art Deco style built in the 1930s.

We headed back to Houston stopping in Mentz, Texas where I found my ancestor's grave stones in the church graveyard.  Peter Jacob Wendel and Barbera Braden immigrated to Texas in 1845 and were married in Mentz and had 12 children.  They are my great, great grandparents.  We got home in Houston at 8:00pm after traveling 570 miles.

Central Texas Courthouses

Lampasas County Courthouse

I continued my pursuit of 254 Texas courthouses last Friday taking aim at six counties; Lampasas, San Saba, Mills, Brown, and McCulloch and time permitting revisiting two others to get a look inside. I left Cypress headed north on US290 early, early setting the GPS for Lampasas.  I made such good time that it was still dark when I arrived in Lampasas. Since this was a loop route I just went to the next town, Goldthwaite, MIlls County.  The courthouse is a huge three story 1913 Classical Revival that can be seen a mile away prodruding from the landscape. The interior was nice and had a huge district courtroom.

 Mills County Courthouse, Brownwood, Texas

Famous Underwood's Cafeteria in Brownwood

The second county was Brown and the town of Brownwood. This is also a Classical Revival style courthouse built in 1917. There is an old jail built like a castle. Like some many of the pre-Civil War counties it had a Confederate soldier statue in the front honoring the men who served the CSA.

By far the most unusual sight was a old Case tractor sitting in the middle of a field with a set of TX longhorns. Leaving Goldthwaite I drove through the town of Santa Anna.  I could not understand why some Texan would ever name anything after the butcher of the Alamo and Goliad.

I stand corrected. Aubrey Cruse sent me a link informing me that this Santa Anna was a Comanche war chief.  Santa Anna was a member of the same band of the Comanche as the more famous Buffalo Hump. He was an important chief, though probably less influential than Buffalo Hump during the 1830s and 1840s. He was the first member of his band to visit Washington, D.C. He was originally, along with Buffalo Hump, a leader of Comanche resistance to Anglo settlement in Texas, especially during the period following the Council House Fight. He was the father of Carne Muerto, later a War Chief of the Quahadi band of Comanche.

Santa Anna, "a large, fine-looking man with an affable and lively countenance," rose to prominence in the years following the Texas Revolution. Ferdinand Roemer, a noted German scientist who was traveling in the Americas at the time of the meetings in the mid and late 1840s, attended the council between the chiefs and white representatives. He described the three Comanche chiefs present as 'serene and dignified,' characterizing Old Owl as 'the political chief' and Santa Anna as an affable and lively-looking 'war chief'.[2]

The next stop was the farthermost point west this time, Coleman. Not much to say about this drab looking Modern courthouse. I did take a photo of the original Second Empire courthouse that was morphed into the present one. The next stop was Brady, Texas, county seat of McCulloch County.  This courthouse has been completely restored. The most unusual thing about this courthouse is the central tower.  It has four round places for a clock, but no clock. The interior is beautiful, just look at the photo of the courtroom.

The next stop was San Saba, pecan capitol of the world.  If you don't believe me just read the sign. There are a lot of pecan orchards in the county. The courthouse is a Texas Renassiance structure that proudly proclaims it was built, "FROM THE PEOPLE TO THE PEOPLE." This was the first courthouse I was able to see the internal clock mechanism of one of these courthouse towers.  It looked like a huge watch with wheel, gears, pulleys, and a cable to the hands of the clock.

I could not leave town with out checking out the huge catfish on the top of a pickup truck.

Williamson County Courthouse

I headed back toward Houston and I had enough time to stop in Georgetown, county seat of Williamson County.  The last time I was in Georgetown it was on a Sunday and the courthouse was closed. This is a 1911 Beaux Arts building with a cental dome and spiral staircase.  There is also a beautifully restored courtroom.  The last stop was Giddings, Texas county seat of Lee County. This courthouse, designed by famous architect J. Riely Gordon, has a beautiful courtroom and a square shaped spiral staircase.  Two hours later I was home in Cypress.  All in all a good day for a courthouse photographer. As I pulled into the driveway I gave thanks to God for a safe journey just as I had asked for his hand as I left the driveway at 4am. Texas is a beautiful state and I enjoy see its most diverse landscape.  God bless Texas.

Stairwell:  Lee County Courthouse

Lee County Courthouse, Giddings, Texas

Along the Rio Grande, Courthouses of South Texas

Willacy County Courthouse, Raymondville, TX

I had been planning this journey for months and knew it would be the longest yet for a single day trip.  David Billingsley had agreed to go with me. He didn't back off when I told him we would leave his house at 4am. So, May 28th I got up at 3am after a battling an upset stomach for the last three hours.  The car was loaded and all I had to do was get dressed and drive to Dave's.  I arrived a few minutes before 4am and he was ready to go.  We loaded his gear, said a short prayer and we were headed south on US59.  Our first priority on the trip was to get some coffee and breakfast at an opened Mac Donald's.  We found one in Edna. Our first destination was Raymondville, county seat of Willacy County. If you look at the map and see numbers we just did them in reverse.  One sight that surprised both of us was the wind farm in Willacy County.  The huge three bladed turbins stand hundreds of feet above the ground.  The wind farm is located  5 miles east of Raymondville and is the first wind energy project in Willacy County, The wind farm is powered by 112 Vestas 1.8 megawatt turbines providing more than 200 megawatts (MW) of power, enough to provide clean power to more than 60,000 households in Texas.

The Willacy County courthouse is a Classical Revival structure built in 1922 and designed by famed architect Henry T. Phelps.  People of Willacy County must all be law abiding because there was the court was not in session and the courtroom was locked.  I found DA Investigator, Juan Miliares, and explained what I was doing and asked him to open the courtroom for me.  He was more than kind and unlocked the courtroom for me. I snapped a few pictures inside and thanked him and we were on our way to Brownsville.

Cameron County Courthouse, Brownsville, TX

Brownsville was the farthest point I have ever been in a single day.  It is really out of the way because you have to drive down US83/US77 to the end, visit the courthouse and retrace your route back north to US83. It was worth the drive because it is the most architecturally beautiful courthouse of the day.  Our first stop was the modern "Criminal Justice Center," not the building I had read about. County officers directed me to the 1912 structure you see in the photos.  This building was designed by famed architect, Atlee B. Ayres and it's style is called "Texas Renaissance", a mixture of Classical elements uniquely Texan. I knew there was a rotunda with a glass ceiling inside but you can't see that from the outside.

Dome glass ceiling, Cameron County Courthouse of 1912

This courthouse has been completely restored and is used as a commissioners court. The place is beautiful inside as well outside.  I found the courtroom locked and asked someone who seemed like they belonged if it was possible to get into the courtroom.  None other than the Cameron County Treasurer, David A. Betancourt, unlock the doors and allowed me to photograph the interior of the now commissioner's court.  He was amazed that I had already visited 130 counties and really amazed that it was only half way.

Our next stop was Edinburg, county seat of  Hidalgo County. This is one of those "Modern style" buildings with no imagination.  I didn't bother to go inside and just snapped a few images outside.  Time was ticking away.

Hidalgo County Courthouse

The route to the next county seat, Rio Grande City, took us through Edinburg.  The traffic was heavy and I think we were stopped at every intersection along SH107 for a red light.  We made it back to US83 which would take us thru Starr, Zapata and Webb counties.The next stop was Rio Grande City, county seat of Starr County. This structure is built of brick in modern style.  Again, I didn't go inside because of time and a boring looking building.

We continued along US83 to Zapata, TX county seat by the same name.  The courthouse sits on a hill and is visible from a long way off.  I like that.  The Zapata courthouse is "Mission" style and very appropriate for the geography of this region of Texas. The courthouse building was under going some renovation which I tried to hide from the camera.  This courthouse ground had the best veterans memorial of the day, see photo.

Zapata County Courthouse

Our next stop was Laredo, county seat of Webb County. We followed the GPS directions but it left us a block short. I kept seeing directions to the border with Mexico and we were on a one way street headed in that direction and I had to manuver quickly to get out of that traffic. We did  not want to even get that close to Mexico as both of us would have gone to jail. I'll let you figure that out on your own.  If you can't email me and I'll explain.  The 1909 Webb County courthouse as is the 1992 courthouse are built in the "Mission" style.  Both resemble a Spanish mission.  The main street to the border with Mexico has the biggest US flag I have ever seen.  It made me proud to be a Texan.

We left Laredo and aimed the car toward Hebbronville on FM359, county seat of Jim Hogg County. This courthouse was built in 1913 by famed architect, Henry T. Phelps, in the Texas Renaissance style.  David and I noticed the oil service trucks, drilling rigs, dump trucks, tank trucks and every camp ground filled with campers in most of South Texas as we traveled.  David said it was part of the Eagleford Shale exploration boom that is producing millionaires out of some lucky landowners.

Our last courthouse of the day was in McMullen County at Tilden, Texas.  This was a simple 1930 Classic Revival structure. It was closed so I photographed the exterior and we headed home.  We stopped in Three Rivers and got a couple of Blizzards, a tank of gas and we found US59 and headed north to Houston.  We made it to David's at 10pm and I was home 45 minutes later.  Total for the day:  1043 miles in 19 hrs.

McMullen County Courthouse, Tilden, TX

More South Texas Courthouses

Thursday Morning:  0430 hrs
Continuing my endeavor to photograph Texas courthouses and see some of this greatest state in the Union, I departed Houston via US59 and headed south.  I wanted to visit as many counties as I could in one day; Bee, Live Oak, Duval, Jim Wells, Brooks, Kenedy, Kleberg, Nueces, Aransas,and San Patricio.  That's 10 counties and in addition I wanted to revisit Refugio and Victoria in blue sky conditions.
I start with a photo of the world famous "Tee Pee Motel" in Wharton.  Why?  If you are driving across Texas, get off the main highways, interstate and explore.  The Tee Pee Motel in on US59 Business in Wharton.  So if you don't go into the small towns you miss places like the Tee Pee.

My first stop was in Wharton at Buckee's.  What a great place for a rest stop; gas, coffee (very good) and they make the best egg, bacon (real and thick) and cheese breakfast sandwich.  It is so much better than McDonald's.  If you've never stopped at a Buckee's you're missing something.

Continuing south, I came to Goliad.  Now Dave Billingsley and I went to Goliad earlier this year but is was cloudy.  The "Second Empire" structure towers above the other buildings in Goliad.  I stopped and took a photo of the courthouse from US59 as it goes through the town.

Goliad County Courthouse stands tall

Traveling along south the first county of the day was Bee County and the county seat of Beeville.  The courthouse can be seen from all over town, at least Lady Justice can.  The courthouse is what is known as "Beaux-Arts", large pediment, dome, symmetry. This courthouse has a glass ceiling with four state of Texas silhouettes.  There is a Navy F4 Skyhawk parked in the front on the square.  The interior is beautiful and is one of the restored courthouses of Texas.
The next county of the day was Live Oak, named after the many trees that you find and the town of George West.  It was the start of the Chisholm trail which went north to the railroads of Kansas.  The courthouse is a Classical Revival (columns and symmetry) but Geronimo, Texas longhorn, in the window was the star.

Live Oak County Courthouse

Leaving George West, I continued south to Alice on US281.  Alice was named after a railroad executive's daughter.  The railroad built the town and county in the late 1800's.  Alice has the only "Tejano" museum honoring Mexican-Am singers of that genera.

I made a quick trip to San Diego just west of Alice.  It is the county seat of Duval County.  It has a really run down courthouse so I didn't stay long.  I was back on the road south to Falfurrias, county seat of Brooks County.  This is another Classical Revival courthouse.  Brooks County was named for a local Texas Ranger captain, James A. Brooks.  The courthouse has been restored to its original condition, plus A/C and all the modern plumbing.  The court bailiff took me on a tour of place and to the second floor and third floor balcony.  I thought the ceiling lights were very appropriate for a courtroom, scales of justice.  This was as far south that I would go today.

Kenedy County Courthouse, Sarita, TX

I turned east and headed to Sarita and Kenedy County.  Sarita is mostly Kenedy Ranch property so I've included one of the entrances to the ranch in the photos.  I used to hunt on this ranch years ago.  It is really, really huge.  Our camp house was 30 miles off the highway and we were not even in the middle of the ranch.  The county has a beautiful courthouse.  The county clerk opened the courtroom so I could get a photo of the interior.

Turning north now, I drove to Kingsville and Kleberg County.  This courthouse is designed in Texas Revival, a common architectural building of the 30's.  It combines elements from several styles to form it's on unique Texas style.

Kleburg

Corpus Christi was my next stop.  I photographed the courthouse and not much else.  I then drove to Rockport, Aransas County.  This courthouse is what I call the "school house" style of architecture.  About one of the ugliest courthouses I've ever seen.  I took a photo of the courthouse that was demolished in 1950's, a J.Riely Gordon three story structure.  What a shame it is to lose pieces of history like that.

From Rockport, I drove to Sinton, San Patricio County and through one of the largest wind farms ever.  The courthouse has a really good memorial to WW1 featuring a "Doughboy" charging.  He's on the corner of the square.

Refugio County Courthouse

Next stop was Refugio.  I've photographed Refugio before but it was cloudy.  Thursday was bright blue skies.  Refugio is another Texas Renaissance courthouse.  Continuing north to Victoria, I wanted to stop here because of the light.  I've been to Victoria before but it was cloudy.  This is another J. Riely Gordon, "Romanesque Revival" courthouse.  After photographing the exterior and details I went inside (5PM). I was told by the deputies that courthouse was closed.  One of them, Donna, said she would take me through it.  She was getting off work but took me through the first floor.  There was a hearing going on in the courtroom so I couldn't see that.  This courthouse has been fully restored and it is a beautiful building, one of which the citizens of Victoria are very proud.

Victoria County Courthouse

My last stop was Wharton, just to see the courthouse and the town and Tee Pee Motel.

Tee Pee Motel, north of Wharton on US59

Hours on the road:  15
Miles traveled:  704

Wharton County Courthouse