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Montgomery
County courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
The Present Montgomery County Courthouse -
ConroeDate
- 1936
Architect - Joseph Finger, Inc.
Style - Moderne
Material -
Limestone
The 1965 remodeling altered the look of the courthouse.
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Photos |
History
THE COURTHOUSES OF MONTGOMERY COUNTYThe
third county established after the birth of the Republic of Texas, Montgomery
County was organized in 1837, cut from neighboring Washington County. The county
was named for Montgomery, the county’s largest settlement at the time, which was
named for early settler and veteran of the battle
of San Jacinto, Andrew Jackson Montgomery. Montgomery was a descendant of
Revolutionary War general Richard Montgomery. Montgomery County would later be
divided to create Grimes, Madison, San Jacinto, Walker and Waller counties.
The town of Montgomery served as the first
county seat and the first courthouse, a two-room log structure, was built there
in 1838. This courthouse was replaced by a two-story building of hand-hewn lumber
in 1842. In 1855, a large Greek Revival-style brick building was completed and
served as the county’s third courthouse.
When the railroad arrived in Montgomery
County in the 1870s, it bypassed the town of Montgomery.
The town of Willis, north of present day Conroe,
was established on the railroad and in 1874, an election moved the county seat
to Willis. However, when the Houston and Texas
Central was built through Montgomery in 1880,
the county seat was returned there. In 1881, Houston
lumberman Isaac Conroe opened a sawmill at the center of the county near the future
junction of the I&GN and the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway. He later moved
his sawmill to the railroad junction and it served as a station on the I&GN Railroad.
A town developed at the junction, named Conroe’s Switch, and the county seat was
moved there in 1889. The town was renamed Conroe
in the 1890s. A residence donated by Isaac Conroe served as a temporary courthouse
until a permanent brick structure was built in 1891.
The 1891 courthouse
in Conroe, the fourth courthouse for the county,
was designed by Houston architect Eugene
T. Heiner in the Second Empire style that he employed in many of his previous
Texas county courthouses, most notably the 1888
Austin County courthouse, the 1888
Falls County courthouse and the 1888
Walker County courthouse. Heiner
also designed a separate jail at the same time and it stood until 1931 when it
burned down. Fires in 1901 and 1911 near the courthouse square destroyed much
of the business district, but the courthouse survived. In 1922 the courthouse
grounds became the scene of communal violence when a 19-year old black mill worker,
Joe Winters, was accused of raping a young white girl and was burned alive. The
1891 courthouse stood until it was demolished for the construction of the present
courthouse in 1936.
The 1936 Montgomery County courthouse was designed
by Austrian-born Houston architect
Joseph Finger, who is probably best remembered for designing the 1939 Houston
City Hall and other buildings in Houston.
Finger also designed the 1952 Harris County courthouse with his architectural
partner, George W. Rustay, but died before it was completed. The design of the
1936 courthouse reflected many of the Art-Moderne style courthouses already built
in Texas during the 1930s which consisted of a large
central masses with flanking blocks. The ornamentation on the 1936 courthouse
is sparse, consisting of carved stripes in the limestone, stars and stylized eagles
and the county name over the east and west side entrances. In place of a clock
tower, a small, square, numberless clock sits in the middle of the central mass
at the roofline. This courthouse was built with a jail on the top floor which
was used until 1965 when the courthouse was remodeled. It was at this time that
the 1936 courthouse was surrounded by two-story brick additions with a parking
garage beneath them. Columned porticoes were also added to the east and west side
entrances. The 1936 courthouse is still in service today with a sky bridge connecting
the north side of the 1965 addition to the courthouse annex across West Davis
Street.
- Terry
Jeanson, March
12, 2011
References: Courthouse and county history from the Handbook
of Texas Online and “The Courthouses of Texas” by Mavis P. Kelsey, Sr. and Donald
H. Dyal. Jail information from “Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas” by Edward
A. Blackburn, Jr.
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The 1936 courthouse seen from the southwest corner, barricaded by the 1965 additions.
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
Courthouse West side entrance portico
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
Courthouse west side entrance
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
1936 courthouse details
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
The 1936 courthouse with its 1965 additions (right) is connected to the courthouse
annex (left) by a sky bridge.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
The east side of the sky bridge includes a mural depicting people and places in
Montgomery County history.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
Montgomery County Courthouse plaque
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2005 |
| | Montgomery
County Courthouse
TE photo, June 2004 |
| | Montgomery
County Courthouse close up
TE photo, June 2004 | |
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