| |
| When
Bison Bill and I first pulled into Center
in Northeast Texas, we could not help but notice the numerous chimneys surrounding
Shelby County's 1885 courthouse. Bison Bill got out his calculator and found that
a total of twelve chimneys encompass that beautiful brick structure. We later
discovered that the architect, J. J. E. Gibson of Ireland, had wanted his
masterpiece to look like the castles he had seen while growing up in his native
country. This courthouse is now the only remaining Irish castle style courthouse
in the United States. |
1885
Shelby County Courthouse today
Photo
courtesy Lori
Martin, 2006 |
Shelby
County as it appeared in 1939
Photo
Courtesy TxDoT |
| This
impressed the socks off of Bill, who had clad his feet earlier in the day because
of the chill in the air. We wandered around the courthouse square and eventually
ran into someone who knew so much about the courthouse that I could not believe
my eagle ears.
Shelby County, organized in 1837, was one of the original
counties of Texas. Named for the American Revolutionary soldier Isaac Shelby
of Kentucky, its county seat, Center, has been just that since 1866. The present
area of Shelby County was a part of the Municipality of Tenaha when Mexico became
independent of Spain in 1821.
The courthouse itself is a two-story Romanesque
brick building. The two million-plus bricks were made by the architect, while
the mortar was made from sand toted via oxcart from Louisiana some forty miles
away.
The architect thought hard about the hot Texas summers, so he
shuttered each window. So while the windows were opened, the courthouse still
remained cool. The ceilings are also high, which further helped make the courthouse
temperature bearable. But having windows opened caused a bit of an aviary problem.
Oftentimes, newspapers would be handed out to those attending court to act as
a shield from any unwarranted "attacks" from above. One time, the attention of
the court kept straying upward as a lone bird flew from gable to gable. The judge
asked if someone could do something about it, and BANG! Someone did. |
| | Architect
Gibson's portrait overlooks the front room and courthouse artifacts. The desk
was the one he used to design the courthouse
Photo by
Lou
Ann Herda |
| | The
only courthouse with a fireplace in the restrooms
Photo by
Lou
Ann Herda |
| The
first floor used to hold offices for county officials. Since the renovation was
completed in 2000, these rooms now contain historical artifacts. Gibson's portrait
hangs above one of his fireplaces, and the various tools used to make the courthouse
are displayed. The wooden floor is refinished to a shine, and the walls look clean
and new. Placed
in the center of the courthouse is an 1885 coin, commemorating the year the courthouse
was finished. Before the renovation, there were no inside facilities. Since folks
prefer the comforts of porcelain toilets and air conditioning over a wooden, splintery
outhouse, two restrooms were built inside. As a result, this courthouse is the
only USA courthouse that has fireplaces in the restrooms (until I hear otherwise).
|
| | Courtroom.
Notice the balcony in the back where the deputies used to be stationed during
trials and the two sets of stairs
Photo
by Lou
Ann Herda |
| There
is a door in the front hallway that can only be opened from the inside. That was
the original escape door for the judge. Upstairs is the huge courtroom, complete
with the original benches. The floor sweeps down to the judge's bench. There are
two sets of stairs in the back. Before desegregation, one was used for the White
folks to enter, while the other was for the African-American folks. Above the
center of the back is a balcony where two deputies used to stand with their shotguns
just in case there was a problem with the verdict. |
| | Author's
son Taylor makes a quick escape
down the judge's escape hatch.
Photo
by Lou
Ann Herda |
| Speaking
of which, next to the judge's chair on the floor is the escape hatch. If the verdict
upset the crowd, the judge would open the hatch, climb down the stairs, and go
out the one-way-only door. The deputies would keep one eye on the crowd and one
eye on the outside to see when the judge had mounted his horse and made his escape.
Only then could the crowd leave. |
| | Photo
of the former clock in front of the courthouse
Photo
by Lou
Ann Herda |
| The
outside clock has caused quite a controversy. When we first saw it, we thought
it looked pretty good, especially since they had the sense to put an eagle on
top. But after hearing what had happened to the previous clock and all the sentimentality
surrounding that 100+ year-old, non-working, nearly one-of-a-kind timepiece, I
noticed that the eagle looked more like a buzzard, as one townsfolk put it. Since
the courthouse and its square are properties of the Texas Historic Commission,
by state law, there is supposed to be no changes to the looks of the courthouse
or its grounds without first getting permission from the commission. Well, the
current judge didn't like having a broken clock in front of the courthouse, so
he had it removed without permission and had a new one put there. Talk about a
feud! There's more to it than this, but that's all I have to say about that.
| |
©
Lou
Ann Herda
April,
2002
Special thanks to Dowell D.
Youngblood, volunteer for the Shelby County Historical Society, for his astounding
rendition of the history of the courthouse. Also to Pam Phelps, executive director
of the Shelby County Chamber of Commerce, for gathering materials about the history
of the county and its courthouse. | |
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