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Newton County
Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
THE
COURTHOUSES OF NEWTON COUNTY
By Terry
Jeanson
When
Newton County was
organized in 1846, separated from the eastern part of Jasper
County, the town of Quicksand
(also called Quicksand Creek) was made the county seat and county
officials held their first meetings at the home of Josephus S. Irvine,
an early Texas settler and veteran of the battle
of San Jacinto. It was soon discovered that Quicksand
was not at the center of the county.
A new county seat was selected with the founding of the town of Newton,
but a bill passed in the state legislature that moved the county seat
to Burkeville instead in
1848.* It was here that the county’s
first courthouse
was built on land donated by the town’s founder, John R. Burke. The
courthouse was a two story wood frame building with a front porch
and second story balcony.
A land title dispute at the site of the courthouse in Burkeville
led county officials to move the county seat to Newton,
the geographical center of the county, in 1853.*
The county’s second
courthouse was built in Newton that
year by Major John Moore, the first county clerk of Newton
County. It was a two story wood frame building with a hipped roof.
The upper floor of this courthouse was rented by the Masonic Lodge
for $50.00 a year. In 1855, an election moved the county seat back
to Burkeville but county officials
refused to leave Newton and in 1856
the state legislature ruled that Newton
should remain the county seat.
Fifty years later, Newton
County’s third
and current courthouse was built in 1902-03 on the
same land as the previous courthouse. It was built from brick made
on nearby Caney Creek in the Second Empire style with a sloping, pressed
metal roof (containing round and arched dormers and triangular pediments,)
a truncated clock tower and corner quoins with a bracketed cornice
and bracketed balconies over the entrances. The architects of this
courthouse, Martin & Moodie (sometimes spelled Moody,) also designed
the 1899
McCulloch County courthouse in Brady
and the 1901 Irion
County courthouse still standing in the former county seat of
Sherwood. In 1929,
a bell and clock were installed in the tower of Newton‘s
courthouse. The interior of the courthouse was altered over the years,
including the addition of false walls to create more office space
and closing off the upper balcony of the courtroom to add heating
and air conditioning vents. In 1936-37, an annex and jail addition
was built onto the south side of the courthouse and the brick exterior
of the building was covered in stucco.
On
August 4, 2000, an electrical fire in the attic led to the destruction
of the courthouse. By the time the smoke was seen billowing from the
clock tower, it was already too late to save the building. All that
remained was the four outer walls and some interior walls on the first
floor. The courthouse sat abandoned for six years before restoration
work began with grants from the Texas Historical Commission and other
donations totaling around six million dollars. The courthouse was
going to be restored to its 1937 condition, the date of the last addition
to the building. Continuing problems with architects and contractors
led to even more delays. The new clock tower, manufactured in Utah,
was installed on May 20, 2009. The restoration was completed in 2012
and the courthouse officially reopened at a rededication ceremony
on the courthouse square on December 8, 2012.
*The
Texas Historical Commission’s County Atlas lists the dates of construction
for the first two courthouses as ca.1846 and 1859.
Sources: Historical and biographical information from The Handbook
of Texas Online. Courthouse history from the Texas Historical Commission
County Atlas at http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-desig.htm, The
Courthouses of Texas by Mavis P. Kelsey & Donald H. Dyal and the Newton
County Historical Commission. |
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Newton County
Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
The
Present Newton County Courthouse
Built in 1902,
The brick building appears older than it is. The Second Empire Style
had fallen out of favor at the time of its construction. It's still
one of the handsomest courthouses
in East Texas.
Architect - Martin and Moodie
Style - Second Empire
Material - Brick
The County was named for American Revolutionary Hero Sgt. John Newton.
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"The front
of Newton County Courthouse. Painters are putting the final touches
on the roof the day before the rededication."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
Newton County
Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
"The reconstructed
clock tower with open belfry was placed onto the roof of the courthouse
on May 20, 2009."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
Looking at the
north entrance and staircase in the restored courthouse.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The restored
district courtroom. Some of the original wooden planks (with a few
burn marks) were reused in the courtroom floor."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"District
courtroom balcony showing part of the pressed metal ceiling."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The judge’s
bench in the district courtroom. The bench was reconstructed using
photos of the original."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"Spiral
staircase behind the judge’s bench. Hidden behind a false wall for
years, it survived the fire and was restored. The stairs lead to the
commissioner’s courtroom on the third floor."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The 1929
memorial bell and one of the clock faces survived the fire and are
on display on the north side of the courthouse."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The first
Newton County courthouse, built in 1848 in Burkeville.
Photo from the Newton County Wall of History on the east side of the
courthouse."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"Site
of First Newton County Courthouse"
Centennial Marker in Burkeville.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December 2007 |
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"The second
Newton County courthouse, built in 1853 in Newton.
Photo from the Newton County Wall of History on the east side of
the courthouse."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012
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Courthouse
Fire
"On August
4, 2000, an electrical fire in the attic led to the destruction
of the courthouse. By the time the smoke was seen billowing from
the clock tower, it was already too late to save the building. All
that remained was the four outer walls and some interior walls on
the first floor. The courthouse sat abandoned for six years before
restoration work began..." - Terry
Jeanson
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The
courthouse on fire
Photo courtesy KJAS Radio |
Newton County
Courthouse two years after fire
Photo courtesy Lou Ann Herda, Ed.D, June 2002 |
Newton County
Courthouse before restoration
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, September 2004 |
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