|
Williamson County
Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
Present Williamson
County Courthouse -
Georgetown,
Texas
Date - 1911
Architect - Charles H. Page
Style - Beaux-arts
Material - Brick and stone
Remodeled in 1965 |
THE COURTHOUSES
OF WILLIAMSON COUNTY
By Terry
Jeanson
The threat of Indian attacks kept most settlers away from this area
of Texas until after statehood. Separated from western Milam
County, Williamson
County was officially organized in 1848. The county seat of Georgetown
was established the same year on land donated by its namesake, George
Washington Glasscock. (Glasscock County was also named for him.)
Court was initially held under a live oak tree one block south of
the courthouse square until the county’s first courthouse, a 16 foot
square, one-room log house, was built in late 1848 or early 1849 east
of the courthouse square. (The square at that time was referred to
as the “common.”)
In 1851, the county purchased a one-story, 14 x 30 foot, wood frame
home with a gabled roof from William Patterson for $390. The home
was just off the square on the same block as the log courthouse and
it was used as the county’s second courthouse until 1857 when the
third courthouse was constructed on the square.
The third courthouse was a 50 foot square, two-story rubble limestone
building with 2 feet thick walls and a hipped roof and it was the
first known stone building built in town. Joseph S. Williams was paid
$5 for the plans but he may not have been the architect. Construction
of this building was poor and it had to be repaired before it was
even completed. In 1873, four iron rods that were the length of the
building had to be installed to stabilize the structure.
In 1877, Austin architect Frederick E. Ruffini and his architectural
partner Jasper N. Preston were hired to design the county’s fourth
courthouse. Ruffini,
with his brother Oscar, designed over a dozen courthouses in Texas
in the late 19th century. Ruffini also worked with Preston in 1878-79
on the former McCulloch
and Gregg County
courthouses and again in 1883 when the Bastrop
County courthouse was built. Preston would later go on to design
the Bell
County courthouse and the former Washington County courthouse,
both in 1884 and the former Mitchell County courthouse (with Ruffini)
in 1885, which was a copy of the Bastrop
County courthouse. The contractor of the fourth Williamson County
courthouse was John Didelot and the cost of construction was $27,400.
It was a grand three-story Second Empire style building of stone with
pediments, roof cresting, an elaborate cornice, corner pavilions with
Mansard cupolas and a large rounded cupola over the front entrance.
Completed in 1878, the fourth courthouse was nearly identical to the
1882
Hays County courthouse (designed by Ruffini, which burned down
in 1908) and the 1882 Robertson
County courthouse (also designed by Ruffini, which still stands
today, but in altered form.) In 1909, the fourth courthouse was deemed
no longer safe and plans were made to fund the construction of a new
courthouse. |
 |
The 1877 Williamson
County Courthouse
Early 1900s photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
| The
fifth and current courthouse was designed by Austin architect Charles
Henry Page of the C.H Page & Bro. architectural firm. The Page
Brothers firm designed almost a dozen courthouses in Texas built
between 1908 and 1937. The contractor was W.C. Whitney of Beaumont
and the cost of construction was nearly $120,000. The cornerstone
was laid in 1910 and construction was completed in 1911. The three-story
buff brick building with terra cotta and limestone details was built
in the Beaux-Arts style with extended porticos on each side with triple-arched
entrances. Two-story Ionic columns support decorative pediments, pilasters
with Ionic capitals separate each bay of windows and a balustrade
surrounds the roof. A copper dome with clocks on each side sits in
the center of the roof with a blindfolded statue of Themis on top
holding scales and a sword. This courthouse received many interior
alterations over the years, including resurfacing the floors, removing
of one of the spiral staircases in the rotunda to install an elevator
and dropping the ceiling in the district courtroom, eliminating the
upper balcony. |
 |
Williamson County
Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo
courtesy TXDoT |
Postcard view
of the courthouse before the 1965-66 alterations.
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The courthouse
at rededication on December 2007
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
The
exterior was altered in 1965-66 after terra cotta from the roof balustrade
began to crumble and fall off the building. The balustrade and pediments
were removed, replaced by a wall of brick and stone that surrounded
the building. In 2000, the county received funding from the Texas
Historical Commission to create plans for a full historical restoration
and a construction grant of nearly $4 million was awarded to the county
in 2004. On the exterior, the balustrades and pediments were reconstructed
and the dome was replaced. The statue of Themis was also removed and
restored. On the interior, the terrazzo floors were reconstructed
along with the spiral staircase and the elevator was relocated. The
original paint scheme on the walls was restored along with the county
courtroom and the balcony in the district courtroom. The restoration
was completed and the courthouse was rededicated on December 8, 2007.
See Courthouse
Photos ›
Terry
Jeanson
May 12, 2013
Sources:
County history and biographical information from The Handbook of Texas
Online. Courthouse information from The Texas Historical Commission’s
County Atlas at http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-desig.htm National
Register of Historic Places: Williamson County Courthouse Historical
District, The Williamson County Historical Commission at http://www.williamson-county-historical-commission.org/
and Courthouses of Williamson County – Historical Narrative by Clara
S. Scarbrough, 1980. |
 |
South side entrance
with the Confederate Memorial
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
Detail
on the East side (identical to the West side) pediment.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
Detail on the
South side (identical to the North side) pediment.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
| "The newly
restored dome with clocks and a statue of Themis. The stone balustrades
around the roof had to be reconstructed. The Lady Justice statue,
a depiction of Themis, the Greek goddess of divine justice, was removed
from the dome in March of 2006. The statue was restored and sat in
the Williamson County Historical Museum until the restoration of the
dome was completed." - Terry
Jeanson |
The South side
portico in January of 2005 and December of 2007
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson |
The courthouse's
dome in January of 2005 and December of 2007
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson |
This staircase
in the southwest corner of the rotunda was completely restored. It
had been removed during an earlier interior remodel, leaving only
one staircase in the rotunda. A painted sign on the wall beneath the
staircase reading "THESE SEATS FOR JANITORS ONLY" was uncovered during
the restoration.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
The interior
skylight in the rotunda
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
The skylight
seen from the top floor.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
The two story
district courtroom has been faithfully restored including the upper,
wrap-around balcony.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
View of the judge's
bench from the balcony
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December, 2007 |
|
Old postcard
view of Williamson County Courthouse
Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/
|
Christmas ornament
available from the Williamson Museum celebrating the 100th anniversary
of their courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2011 |
The courthouse
front before restoration
TE Photo,
September 2004 |
Courthouse close
up in 2004
TE Photo |
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