| |
The
restored 1902
Crockett County Courthouse
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
The
1902 Crockett County Courthouse
See
Historical Marker
According
to Courthouses of Texas by Mavis Kelsey, Sr. and Donald Dyal, there had
been faux clock faces painted on the main tower. The building is described as
a Second Empire design, with the architect being one of the Ruffini
Brothers. In this case it was Oscar, who was also responsible for neighboring
Sutton County
Courthouse. Brother F.E. designed the Concho
County Courthouse in Paint
Rock. Oscar also designed the Ozona High School.
"This
is Crockett County's second courthouse. According to the Texas Historical Commission's
County Atlas (http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-desig.htm) the first courthouse
was built in 1891, the year the county was officially organized. It was
a wood frame structure built by Sam T. Smith, the town carpenter."
-
Terry
Jeanson |
Crockett
County Courthouse Historical Marker
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
Historical
marker text CROCKETT
COUNTY COURTHOUSEBuilt
1902. Second courthouse for county. American Gothic architecture, planned by Oscar
Ruffini, San Angelo. Material is fine stone quarried nearby on Meyer and Couch
properties. Cost $30,000. Early day community social center. Used for cowboy dances,
box suppers, Christmas trees, roundup celebrations. In 1909 arc light was added
to steeple, to signal sheriff and guide travelers to town.
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark, 1966 |
Crockett
County courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
The
Restored 1902 Crockett County Courthouse |
The
front (west side) of Crockett County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
Photographer's
Note: "During my visit to Ozona in December of
2009, I found the courthouse in a state of restoration. The roof was pretty much
finished with a noticeable color change to the Mansard cupola over the front entrance
and the pyramidal caps on the corner pavilions. Another restored feature included
the “bulls-eye” or “ox-eye” moldings on the Mansard cupola, ostensibly for clocks
that were never installed. The original moldings had been removed some time ago.
The interior was still mostly untouched and construction crews were busy building
new furniture for the upstairs courtroom.
When I returned in October of
2011, the interior and exterior restoration had been completed. The entrances
have new wooden doors and the interior wooden wainscoting has been restored, along
with the wooden balustrade for the staircase. The courtroom’s wooden furnishings
have also been restored (and in some cases rebuilt) along with the stained glass
in the fan lights over the arched windows in the building’s central bays and over
the entrance to the courtroom." - Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
 |
| "Window
and Mansard cupola over the front entrance. The oiel-de-boeuf (French for "bulls-eye")
molding has been restored on each side of the cupola." - Terry
Jeanson |
| "Front
entrance gallery. When built, each side of the building had a gallery, but the
gallery on the east side (rear) has been covered up for the addition of office
space and a portion of the gallery on the south side has also been enclosed."
- Terry
Jeanson |
Courtroom
after restoration
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
Courtroom
doors from inside the courtroom.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
Staircase
after restoration
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2011 |
Staircase
before restoration
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, December 2009 |
"Courthouse
cornerstone to the right of the front entrance. Another cornerstone to the left
of the front entrance lists the county officials at the time of construction."
- Terry
Jeanson,
December 2009 photo
More Texas
cornerstones |
Crockett
County courthouse
Old Photo courtesy THC |
Crockett
County courthouse in 2001
Photo courtesy Jason
Penney | |
| Save on Hotels
- Expedia
Affiliate Network | |
