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WILBARGER
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
County Seat - VernonWilbarger
County has had three courthouses:
1883, 1890
and the present 1928
building. Book
Your Hotel Here & Save:
Vernon
Hotels |
The
southeast corner of the courthouse in the early morning light.
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
The Present
Wilbarger County Courthouse
-
VernonDate
- 1928
Architect - Voelcker and Dixon
Style - Classical Revival
Photographer's Note:
The
1928 Wilbarger County courthouse was one the earliest Texas courthouses designed
by the architectural firm of Voelcker and Dixon, whose designs would soon be influenced
by the Art-Deco/Art-Moderne style architecture of the 1930s which became prevalent
in their later courthouses.
From what I could tell during my brief visit
in 2006, much of this building has been spared from the modern renovations that
many courthouses have endured over the years. - Terry
Jeanson |
The
1928 Wilbarger County Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
Wilbarger
County courthouse south entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
Courthouse
foyer looking north
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
| The
handsome district courtroom, complete with wooden wainscoting and decorated ceiling.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
The southwest corner of the 1928 Wilbarger County courthouse.
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
A
later view of the 1928 Wilbarger County Courthouse
Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/
%7Etxpstcrd/ |
The 1890 Wilbarger
County Courthouse
-
Vernon
The former 1890 Wilbarger County courthouse was designed by architect James Edward
Flanders who designed many Second Empire style courthouses in Texas in the late
1800s. The one he designed for Shackelford
County is the only one that remains standing. - Terry
Jeanson |
The
1890 Wilbarger County Courthouse
1923 postcard courtesy THC |
| Oil
painting of the 1890 Wilbarger County courthouse hanging on the wall in the front
lobby of the current courthouse. Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April 2006 |
Wilbarger
County Historical Marker |
Historical Marker
Text
Early Wilbarger County
Organized 1858 and named in honor
of Mathias and Josiah P. Wilbarger,
early Texas settlers. Josiah,
a surveyor, had become famous as the man who lived 12 years after being scalped
by Comanches, 1833, near Austin.
He had saved his life by putting a wool sock on his head; he was rescued next
day by neighbors. An adobe house built 1878 by Jonathan and C. F. Doan, the first
Wilbarger County settlers, marks the Red
River crossing of the famous Western Cattle Trail. Vernon
(formerly Eagle Flat) became county seat in 1881. The first railroad reached town,
1886. | |
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