| |
LIMESTONE
COUNTY COURTHOUSE
County Seat - Groesbeck,
Texas Limestone
County has had 5 courthouses:
1847 - County seat - Springfield
1856
1878 - County seat - Groesbeck
1892
1924
Area
Hotels - Book Here & Save: Waco
Hotels |
Limestone
County courthouse from the southeast corner
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
The Present
Limestone County Courthouse - Groesbeck,
Texas
Date - 1924
Architect - R.H. Stuckey of Midwest Engineering Company
Style
- Classical Revival
The formidable 1924 Limestone County Courthouse was
built of brick, concrete, marble and tile (you were expecting limestone?) The
impressive courthouse is unusual in that there are practically no buildings facing
it. Groesbeck has no "Courthouse Square" per se. |
| | The
1924 Limestone County Courthouse
TE Photo, 2001 |
The
courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
The
courthouse historical marker
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
Detail
of the north side entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
Cornucopia
molding decorates each corner of the courthouse roof.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
"This
bell at the north side entrance was manufactured by the Buckeye Bell Foundry in
Cincinnati, Ohio in 1908 and placed in the clock tower of the old 1878 Limestone
County courthouse. When the current courthouse was built, it was given to the
Blake Smith family who donated it back to the county in 2002."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
| One
of the decorative molded capitals on top of the pilasters inside the courthouse.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
| Detail
on one of the folding chairs in the courtroom gallery. Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, 2009 |
| One
of the two district courtrooms which occupy the east and west wings of the courthouse
on the upper floors. This is the courtroom in the east wing. Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
| Balcony
in the east wing courtroom. The upper balconies in both courtrooms are still intact.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
The 1892 Limestone
County Courthouse
1914 Photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
| "The
cornerstone of the 1891-92 Limestone County courthouse sits by the west side entrance.
The plaque on top says "Original Cornerstone Of The Limestone County Courthouse
Built In 1891." The architect's name listed on the cornerstone is Albert Ullrich."
- Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February, 2009 |
| Originally
the settlement of Springfield (five miles north of town on Hwy 14) was the county
seat. It had to be - for years it was the only town in the county. It died shortly
after the Houston and Texas Central railroad came through and bypassed the town
in favor of Groesbeck.
Today a cemetery alongside the road to Fort
Parker State Park is all that remains of Springfield. |
|
|
