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Foard
County courthouse
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
The Foard County
Courthouse
- Crowell, Texas
Date - 1910
Architect - McDonald Brothers, Fort
Worth
Style - Texas Renaissance
Material - Brick and stone
This Texas Renaissance style courthouse had a dome before it was struck
by the 1942 tornado. The most obvious damage visible today is damage
to the twin WWI monuments
(soldier and
sailor) who lost limbs. |
The
1910 Foard County Courthouse before the 1942 tornado
1939 photo courtesy TXDoT |
Old photo of
the courthouse without the dome
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
Historical Marker:
Foard County
Courthouse
This is the second
courthouse to serve Foard
County since its creation in 1891. By 1909, the first
courthouse proved too small for the needs of the county, and voters
passed a bond election for the purpose of building a new one. The
Commissioners Court selected Elmer G. Withers as architect, R. H.
Stuckey as superintendent, and G. W. Brillhart of Abilene as contractor.
Completed in 1910, the Classical Revival courthouse featured a statue
of Lady Justice atop a domed cupola and prominent porticoes with paired
Corinthian columns on each side. Tornado damage in 1942 resulted in
the loss of these features, but the courthouse was repaired and still
retains the basic configuration of its original design.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001 |
Courthouse
under construction, circa 1912
Photo courtesy Jim Rich |
Foard County
Courthouse today
Photos courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Photographer's
Note:
"Although stripped of its original classical details, it remains
an imposing structure."
"The front entrance of the courthouse - The stone spheres on
the pedestals mark the spot where the building's large columns once
stood. The granite monument in front of the courthouse relays the
county's history and the facts of the fatal tornado that practically
destroyed Crowell and altered the appearance of the courthouse."
"Stepping into this building was almost like stepping back into
time." - Terry
Jeanson |
Foard County
Courthouse history - April 28, 1942 tornado
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
The War Monuments
in Foard County
|
The
twin WWI monuments of
soldier and sailor
Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
The statues today,
damaged by the 1942 tornado
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, March 2012 |
| Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The
war monument on the courthouse lawn
Photo courtesy Jim Rich, July 2014 |
Courthouse front
entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2006 |
| Photo
courtesy Jim Rich, September 2013 |
The First Foard
County Courthouse
1891-1912 |
Click
on image to enlarge
Photo courtesy Jim Rich |
The Foard County
Centennial Marker
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