|
The Lampasas
County Courthouse today
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2006 |
The 1883 Lampasas
County Courthouse Today
|
Lampasas County
Courthouse architural details
Photo courtesy William
Beauchamp, July 2009 |
Lampasas County
Courthouse Staircase
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2006 |
Lampasas County
Courthouse interior
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2006 |
Lampasas County
Courthouse Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Sarah
Reveley, 2006 |
Historical Marker:
Lampasas County
Courthouse
After the Texas
Legislature created Lampasas
County in 1856, official business of the county was conducted
from a variety of spaces and buildings. Land for the courthouse square
was set aside when the town of Lampasas
was platted in the 1850s. In 1882, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe
Railroad extended their tracks to the county seat, bringing significant
growth and prosperity to the area.
In 1883, the Commissioners Court, with county judge W. P. Beall presiding,
hired Waco
architect Wesley
Clark Dodson to design the new courthouse. The building contractor
(Kane Brothers) and the stone contractors (T. Lovell and Company)
executed Dodson's
plan, completing the building in 1884. Reflecting influences of the
Second Empire and Italianate styles of architecture, the Lampasas
County Courthouse features a central clock tower, arched windows and
a mansard roof. In 1884, the Commissioners Court authorized the city
to place a Seth Thomas clock in the tower.
Since its construction, the courthouse has been a focal point for
city and county activities, including local
festivals. Floods in 1936 and 1957 damaged the building, requiring
repair and reconstruction. Today, the stately Lampasas County Courthouse
remains an outstanding example of the golden era of courthouse construction
in the state. It continues to serve as an important symbol of the
county's growth and development and as an influence on the historic
character of the county seat. |
The 1883 Lampasas
County Courthouse
Vintage Photos
|
The 1957 flood
in Lampasas
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
Lampasas County
courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
Courthouse with
buggy
Old photo courtesy THC |
The 1883
Lampasas County Courthouse
Under Restoration
|
Courthouse
Clock.
TE photo, 2003 |
Courthouse tower.
TE photo, 2003 |
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