TexasEscapes.com Texas Escapes Online Magazine: Travel and History
Columns: History, Humor, Topical and Opinion
Over 1600 Texas Towns & Ghost Towns
NEW : : TEXAS TOWNS : : GHOST TOWNS : : FEATURES : : COLUMNS : : ARCHITECTURE : : IMAGES : : SITE MAP
HOME
SEARCH SITE
ARCHIVES
RESERVATIONS
Texas Hotels
Hotels
Cars
Air
Cruises
 
  Texas : Architecture : Courthouses : Stephenville

Erath County Courthouse
County Seat - Stephenville, Texas

Date - 1892
Architect - J. Riely Gordon.

Text and contemporary photos by Sam Fenstermacher

Stephenville Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Erath County courthouse  tower Erath County courthouse Stephenville Texas vintage photo 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.
Erath county courthouse courtroom

Courtroom
Erath county courthouse balcony Courtroom balcony
Erath county courthouse tower Erath county courthouse window 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 (From Lou Ann Herda, Ed. D. "The Great American Legends Tour" series

Book Your Hotel Here & Save
Stephenville Hotels
Texas Hotels

 
TEXAS TOWN LIST | TEXAS GHOST TOWNS | TEXAS COUNTIES
Texas Hill Country | East Texas | Central Texas North | Central Texas South |
West Texas | Texas Panhandle | South Texas | Texas Gulf Coast
TRIPS | STATES PARKS | RIVERS | LAKES | DRIVES | MAPS

TEXAS FEATURES
Ghosts | People | Historic Trees | Cemeteries | Small Town Sagas | WWII |
History | Black History | Rooms with a Past | Music | Animals | Books | MEXICO
COLUMNS : History, Humor, Topical and Opinion

TEXAS ARCHITECTURE | IMAGES
Courthouses | Jails | Churches | Gas Stations | Schoolhouses | Bridges | Theaters |
Monuments/Statues | Depots | Water Towers | Post Offices | Grain Elevators |
Lodges | Museums | Stores | Banks | Gargoyles | Corner Stones | Pitted Dates |
Drive-by Architecture | Old Neon | Murals | Signs | Ghost Signs | Then and Now
Vintage Photos

TRAVEL RESERVATIONS | USA

Privacy Statement | Disclaimer | Recommend Us
Contributors | Staff | Contact TE
TEXAS ESCAPES ONLINE MAGAZINE
Website Content Copyright ©1998-2007. Texas Escapes - Blueprints For Travel, LLC. All Rights Reserved
This page last modified: September 8, 2006