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Date
- 1892
Architect - J. Riely Gordon.
Text and contemporary photos
by Sam Fenstermacher
Stephenville
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| Erath
County Courthouse
Constructed mainly of Pecos red sandstone and locally quarried white limestone
L: Courthouse tower today
R: Courthouse c.1939 TXDoT |
| The
Erath County Courthouse is a substantial three story edifice constructed of local
white limestone and red Pecos sandstone. The tower of the building extends to
a height of 95 feet, and the building's base measures 60 by 80 feet. |
|
Courtroom |
| Courtroom
balcony |
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| L:
Courthouse tower interior
R: Window view |
| This
building presents a variation on a traditional theme in early Texas courthouses
of intersecting halls on the first floor dividing the first floor space into four
major areas. The twist is that the tower walls extend down through the center
of the building creating an open central space on the first floor. This central
space or atrium has no immediate ceiling and is open to the second and third floors.
Iron staircases on the east and west sides of the building provide access
to the upper levels. The district courtroom occupies the south side of the building
on the second and third floors. This courtroom features a high ceiling that arches
above to the third story balcony.
The Erath County Courthouse underwent
extensive restoration in 2002 and the work was nearly complete in January of 2003.
Copyright © 2003 by Sam Fenstermacher, All rights reserved
Bibliography: Texas Historical Commission, Texas Historic Sites Atlas. "http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/,
2003.
See also :
Erath
County courthouse by
Lou Ann Herda, Ed. D. | |
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