| |
LEON
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
County Seat - Centerville,
TexasLeon
County has had three courthouses: 1847, 1858, and 1886.
|
Leon County Courthouse today
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 |
Date
- 1886
Architect - William Johnson
Style - Renaissance Revival
Material
- Brick
The 1886 Courthouse stands next to the Leon County Jail on the
square. A misunderstanding between county commissioners and the contractor resulted
in the cost being almost double of the estimate.
The 1858 Courthouse burned
in 1886 and was replaced.
Only the 1886 courthouse is still standing.
The front side of the Courthouse faces Saint Mary's (Texas 7.)
Centerville
Hotels > Book Your Hotel Here & Save |
| "Southwest
corner of the courthouse. The bushes, a pine tree and other foliage were removed
during restoration. The building at the far right in this picture is the old 1913
county jail." - Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 photo |
1886 LEON
COUNTY COURTHOUSE PHOTOGRAPHER’S
NOTE
A
framed invitation in one of the offices of this courthouse reads, “In 1887, Leon
County had a new courthouse! In 2007, 120 years later, Leon County dedicates their
restored courthouse!” The celebration on July 1, 2007 brought to a close a seven
year effort to restore this historic building.
During my first visit to
Centerville in August of 2005, I discovered
the courthouse closed to visitors and in poor condition. A woman at the Chamber
of Commerce informed me that the building was condemned. The outer brick walls
were being supported by steel beams to keep them from bulging outwards any further
and the front entrance portico was badly deteriorated. The building is now in
pristine condition and is once again open to serve Leon County citizens.
Built during the “golden age” of courthouse construction, the box-shaped building
does not have the grand features of other Texas county courthouses of that time
and reflects an earlier era of Texas county courthouse design. This in no way
deters from the building’s appeal, but only enhances its uniqueness among the
collection of the state’s historic county courthouses. The style, referred to
as Renaissance Revival or Greek Revival, is characterized by repetitive features,
especially around the windows. Although architect William Johnson’s name is on
the building’s cornerstone, other sources, including the Texas Historical Commission,
credit Houston architect George Edwin Dickey for the building’s design. It was
built on the same plot of land as the previous courthouse which burned down in
November of 1885. Some of the bricks from the former courthouse, which were locally
made, were used in the current courthouse.
The interior restoration of
the courthouse is probably more impressive than the exterior. I was fortunate
enough to meet Leon County Judge Byron Ryder during my visit and he gave me a
short tour and informed me about some of the building’s features. The ceilings,
which had never been lowered, are 16’ high on the first floor and 20’ high in
the courtroom. (The judge also said that the attic is very large, but he has never
personally been in it.) Just about every inch of wood on the interior is original
and has been restored, including the staircase, the floors, the wainscoting and
the ceiling. The wooden wainscoting has been restored to its original dual color
scheme and the building’s many fireplaces have also been restored, although no
longer functional. According to the Centerville News (7/4/2007,) the courthouse
was restored to its 1906 condition, which included jury boxes on each side of
the courtroom." Judge Ryder explained that this was done so that the jury could
sit on the shady side of the courthouse, depending on the time of day. Some of
the modern additions to the courtroom include removable cushions for the wooden
benches in the gallery and a thick sheet of bulletproof glass behind the judge’s
bench which sits over the front entrance. Additional and updated restrooms, along
with the building’s first elevator, have also been installed. There are also two
steel vaults displayed in the courthouse which survived the fire that destroyed
the 1858 building. Judge Ryder has one of them in his office which he uses as
his personal filing cabinet. A hand-painted sign in the glass transom over the
judge’s office door (which says “Tax Collector”) has also been restored along
with other transoms in the front offices.
Judge Ryder said that the main
reason the courthouse never received a modern overhaul was simply that the county
could never afford it, which was actually beneficial during their restoration
efforts. Before leaving, I asked him if he thought that the restoration of the
courthouse was worth all the time and expense. He did not hesitate to say, “Yes!”
It was pretty obvious from what I witnessed during my visit that everyone was
pretty happy with the results and very proud of their historic courthouse. - Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008
Book
Your Hotel Here & Save > Centerville
Hotels |
 |
Leon
County courthouse after restoration
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 |
Leon County courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
| Leon
County Courthousethe front entrance portico before restoration (left, August,
2005) and after restoration (right, December, 2008.) - Terry
Jeanson |
Courthouse
main staircase.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 |
| "The
judge's dais, with a thick sheet of bulletproof glass in the window behind the
judge's chair. The district courtroom on the second floor has a twenty foot high
ceiling." - Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 photo |
The
judge's bench before restoration
TE Photo, 2001 |
Restored
jury box on the east side of the district courtroom.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 |
| The
jury box before restoration. TE Photo, 2001 |
| "One
of the steel vaults, saved from the previous courthouse, still contains books
and documents from the early days of Leon County." Terry
Jeanson, December, 2008 | |
|
