Three Days in West Texas: From a Horned Toad to a Waterfall

Old Rip of the Eastland County Courthouse

Before this trip I have visited and photographed 187 county courthouses on day trips from Houston.  On a day trip we would leave early in the morning and return in the evening.  There are not enough hours of daylight to do a day trip with the counties in west Texas and the Panhandle.  As a result, I planned this three day trip to west Texas to visit and photograph 24 counties.  To give you an idea where these counties are find Odessa on the map and go up three counties and then turn east to Wichita Falls then south down to I-20 and west on I-20 back to Odessa.  It is referred to as Trans-Pecos and the Permian Basin.  It is big sky country with jack pumps, John Deer tractors, plowed fields and the friendliest people you will ever meet.

 

Our first courthouse stop on this journey was the Eastland County courthouse.  We were here on June 6^th of last year and I had taken photos of the courthouse and missed the main attraction.  I did not take the time to read about the courthouse and missed “Old Rip” a preserved Texas horned toad that is enshrined in its own sarcophagus.That is a coffin for you who do not know.  Missing Old Rip when you go  to Eastland is like missing the Alamo when you go to San Antonio.  Rather than me trying to explain why “Old Rip” is famous, I’ll just let you read the story on the photo.

We left Eastland and drove north to Breckenridge, TX and the Stephens County courthouse. This is a 1926 Classic Revival limestone courthouse. It replaced a beautiful 1883 courthouse which was demolished.  Well, they did keep the doorway to the majestic building and it can be seen on the courthouse grounds. This is one of the few courthouse squares with a monument with the 10 Commandments prominently displayed in the front.

The monument is in front of one first floor window with the word “MOSES” carved into the stone. If you don’t know, it is where our laws originate from. Across the street from the courthouse is an old oil well derrick, a testament to the economy which prospered Stephens County, past and present. There was also a mural of a the local high school football team.  Titled “Spirit of the Buckaroos” is a tribute to the Breckenridge H.S. state champs of the 50’s. This is true Texas culture and tradition.

From Breckenridge we drove north to Graham, county seat of Young County.  The courthouse was built in 1932, height of the Art-Deco period and this courthouse is a prime example.  It is categorized as Moderne architecture and build of limestone and granite.  The county was named for William Cocke Young, Texas pioneer who fought in the Mexican War, and commanded the 11^th Texas Regiment for the Confederacy.  When he was murdered by a band of outlaws in 1862, his son tracked down the murderer and returned him to the scene of the crime where Young’s slaves promptly hanged him.

We headed west to Throckmorton and the Throckmorton County courthouse.  This is another county which we visited in 2014.  At that time, we found the courthouse gutted and in the middle of restoration. I wanted to see it fully restored.  It was to be rededicated in two days on Thursday, March 12^th.  The first thing I noticed about the restored courthouse was it now has a tower.  The exterior and interior is beautifully restored to its 1890 appearance.  Workers were busy doing finishing work for the rededication ceremony. The courthouse is an Italianate design built in 1890.

Baylor Co Courthouse "school house design"

We continued north on US183 to Seymour, county seat of Baylor County.  I’ve included a photo of this “school house” designed courthouse built in 1962.  It replaced a beautiful 1884 structure.

Haskell Co Courthouse

From Seymour we turned south on US277 to Haskell and the Haskell County courthouse.  This is a beautiful 1906 Italian Renaissance courthouse built of limestone.  It was renovated in 1931 removing the roof and a large clock tower.  Probably a public works project during the Depression when the Federal government began giving money to local governments for destroying their historic buildings.

After I photographed the exterior I went inside and found it to be a very ornate courthouse.  I walked up to the 2^nd floor to the courtroom and found it locked.  I noticed a gentleman walking into the District Attorney’s office and I hollered out “hello.”  I got a hello back and he invited me into his office.  He introduced himself as Mike Fouts and I told him who I was.  He asked me about my project and ordered a book right there.  I chuckled and said I would contact him when it was printed.  We talked for 15-20 minutes about crime, politics, architecture, and Haskell County.  After I had a cup of coffee he offered to unlock the courtroom and let me inside.  We went into the courtroom from the District Attorney’s entrance and I got a really nice photo of the huge courtroom. I was disappointed it had a dropped ceiling.  I bid him farewell and I headed back to the car.  David was wondering what had happened to me.  I pointed the car south to Anson and we were off again.

Anson, Texas is the county seat for Jones County.  The town and county are named for the Anson Jones, Texas pioneer doctor who was present at San Jacinto and the last president of the Republic of Texas.  The first thing you notice about this courthouse is its location.  It sits on a traffic island round about.  The 1911 brick courthouse is built in the Beaux-Arts style and dominates all the other buildings in Anson. The front of the courthouse faces south with a huge statue of a sitting Anson Jones at the entrance.  Like many other Beaux-Arts courthouses it has a central clock tower and dome with a statue of Lady Justice on top.  By the way the clock does not work. It was getting late in the day so we drove on to Roby, county seat of Fisher County. This one story flat roof Modern style courthouse replaced a 1910 Classical Revival which was razed.

Our next county was Scurry County.  Snyder is the county seat.  The original courthouse was a 1911 Classical Revival.  In 1950 it was remodeled and the tower was removed.  The slabs of granite were removed during a 1972 remodeling giving it a Modern look.  The old cliché “They don’t build like they used to,” really applies to many of these old halls of justice.  One unusual thing on the courthouse grounds is a statue of a “white buffalo”.  Legend has it that a local settler shot a white buffalo in Scurry County and the statue commemorates this.  Leaving town a sign directed to visitors read “Scurry Back”. The county was named for Confederate general William R. Scurry.   

We continued south to Sweetwater, county seat of Nolan County.  There is nothing unusual about the 1977 Modern style building.  The building had a recent restoration because its granite siding began to fall off two years ago. It appears to have been fixed. Sweetwater is the home of the “Rattlesnake Roundup” each spring in Texas.

Taylor Co 1912 Classical Revival courthouse

Taylor Co 1972 Modern courthouse

Our last courthouse for the first day was Abilene, county seat for Taylor County.  It has two courthouses, one a 1972 Modern style and a 1915 Classical Revival.  Both courthouses were closed by the time we got there so I just have exterior photos.  The most unusual thing about this courthouse was a statue of a combat soldier holding a machine gun standing next to a bold modern sculpture of an eagle.  It is the most unusual Veterans memorial I have seen on a courthouse square.

We spent the night in Abilene at the Best Western hotel.  The room rates are quite high because of all the oil field workers staying in town and working in the oil patch.  David had never had a Whataburger so we found a Whataburger for dinner.  The next morning we were off after breakfast. 

A dominate feature of the landscape in this portion of Texas is the hundreds of huge three bladed wind turbines.  The wind turbines are part of the Sweetwater Wind Farm, one of the largest in the State.  There are over 350 turbines in and around Nolan County.  The Sweetwater Wind Farm was built in five phases and now produces 585.3 MW.  Each turbine has a 53 meter blade and the three blades have a 108 meter diameter.  Wind energy produces 28% of our electrical grid.  Did you know that Texas is the largest producer of wind energy in the USA?

Our first stop of the day was in Colorado City, county seat for Howard County.  It is a Modern style courthouse built of brick, tile and concrete.  From Big Spring we traveled north to Gail, Texas (pop. 200).  This is another Moderne-style courthouse built in 1939.  The county was named for Gail Borden Jr., civic promoter, Baptist missionary, newspaper publisher and inventor. 

As we were leaving Gail driving west on US180, we passed a second hand store.  I had to stop and read the sign again and thought it deserved a photo.  It definitely got my attention.

I think this is call a contrdiction!

This part of Texas can be described as plowed fields, harvested cotton fields alfalfa fields and oil fields.  Farmers were getting ready for spring planting turning the soil with massive John Deere tractors and plows.  Those tractors have a GPS system that can guide the farmer within centimeters of accuracy.  There were plenty of big green machines in the fields as we drove along US180.  Along a big portion of US180 there are no telephone poles, no fences and no cell towers. We eventually arrived in our next town, Lamesa, county seat of Dawson County. 

The Dawson County courthouse was originally designed as a Classical Revival style it was remodeled in 1952 into the Modern style.  The most interesting feature of the courthouse is the three murals painted above three of the entrance doors depicting the economy, history and wildlife of Dawson County.  Dawson County was named for Nicholas Mosby Dawson, Texas revolutionary killed in the Battle of Salado.

From Lamesa, we drove north to Tahoka, county seat Lynn County.  This courthouse was built in 1916 in the Classical Revival style.  Lynn County was named for G. W. Lynn, Texas revolutionary who died at the Alamo.  We continued west on US380 to Brownfield, county seat for Terry County, then south on US62 to Seminole, county seat for Gaines County.  The landscaped is dotted with jack pumps spaced about a stone’s throw from each other.  At one location there were so many jack pumps I lost count.  This was definitely the Permian Basin. 

Dirty white pickup trucks, all brands but mostly Chev and Ford and a few Rams is the dominate truck for the oil patch.  I think it has to do with the Caliche roads in the oil fields. Caliche is a white looking calcium rock found in Texas landscape used for road material.

We continued west on US380 and arrived in Plains, county seat of Yoakum County.  The courthouse was built in 1949 in Moderne style with Art Deco elements.  It was designed by famed Texas architect, Wyatt C. Hedrick. 

From Plains we drove south to Seminole, Gaines County seat.  Gaines County is the #1 producer in Texas for oil, cotton, and peanuts.  The sign also says people, but I doubt that.  The next county courthouse was Andrews.  The unique feature of this courthouse square is the scale model of a oil jack pump in front of the courthouse.

We drove into Odessa, county seat of Proctor County and photographed the courthouse.  It is a modern looking building as is the skyscraper courthouse in Midland.  We drove south to Garden City, county seat of Glasscock County.  It is a Classical Revival courthouse that was closed.  It has an old jail on the courthouse square.

The last courthouse on this trip was Big Spring, county seat of Howard County.  The courthouse was built in 1953 in Modern style. We spent the night in Big Spring and planned to return to Houston the next day.

After breakfast we hit the road headed south.  We drove through San Angelo and on to Brady, Texas and into the Hill Country.  We passed several old abandoned farm houses that I stopped and photographed. I also noticed a lot of bluebonnet plants spouting small leaves.  It is going to be a banner wildflower season.

We stopped in Llano, Texas, county seat of Llano County.  I decided to photograph the courthouse with the clear blue sky.  The courthouse is one of the best looking in Texas.  While in Llano we had lunch at Cooper’s Barbeque.  This is a Texas tradition.  The meats are smoked outside in huge metal pits.  Customers walk up to the pit and tell the pit master what kind of meat you want and he cuts your order.  I ordered two slices of brisket, one rib and one sausage.  It was presented to me all wrapped up in brown paper.  Inside I bought a small container of coleslaw and coke and sat down at the picnic table.  David joined me and we enjoyed our lunch.  Looking around the dining room I found an 8-point wild hog.  It’s a new Texas species.

Our last stop was McKinney Falls State Park near the Austin Airport.  It has a nice waterfall and I wanted to use my new neutral density filters. The photo was taken at f/11 at 1 second exposure.  It gives the moving water a nice silky effect.

I hope you enjoyed this journey through West Texas and the Hill Country.  God bless Texas.