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Newton
County Courthouse
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
THE COURTHOUSES OF NEWTON COUNTY
By Terry
Jeanson
When
Newton County was organized in 1846, separated from the eastern part of Jasper
County, the town of Quicksand
(also called Quicksand Creek) was made the county seat and county officials held
their first meetings at the home of Josephus S. Irvine, an early Texas settler
and veteran of the battle
of San Jacinto. It was soon discovered that Quicksand
was not at the center of the county.
A new county seat was selected with
the founding of the town of Newton, but a bill passed
in the state legislature that moved the county seat to Burkeville
instead in 1848.* It was here that the county’s
first courthouse was built
on land donated by the town’s founder, John R. Burke. The courthouse was a two
story wood frame building with a front porch and second story balcony.
A
land title dispute at the site of the courthouse in Burkeville
led county officials to move the county seat to Newton,
the geographical center of the county, in 1853.*
The county’s second courthouse
was built in Newton that year by Major John Moore,
the first county clerk of Newton County. It was a two story wood frame building
with a hipped roof. The upper floor of this courthouse was rented by the Masonic
Lodge for $50.00 a year. In 1855, an election moved the county seat back to Burkeville
but county officials refused to leave Newton and
in 1856 the state legislature ruled that Newton
should remain the county seat.
Fifty years later, Newton County’s third
and current courthouse was built in 1902-03 on the same land
as the previous courthouse. It was built from brick made on nearby Caney Creek
in the Second Empire style with a sloping, pressed metal roof (containing round
and arched dormers and triangular pediments,) a truncated clock tower and corner
quoins with a bracketed cornice and bracketed balconies over the entrances. The
architects of this courthouse, Martin & Moodie (sometimes spelled Moody,) also
designed the 1899
McCulloch County courthouse in Brady
and the 1901 Irion County courthouse
still standing in the former county seat of Sherwood.
In 1929, a bell and clock were installed in the tower of Newton‘s
courthouse. The interior of the courthouse was altered over the years, including
the addition of false walls to create more office space and closing off the upper
balcony of the courtroom to add heating and air conditioning vents. In 1936-37,
an annex and jail addition was built onto the south side of the courthouse and
the brick exterior of the building was covered in stucco.
On
August 4, 2000, an electrical fire in the attic led to the destruction of the
courthouse. By the time the smoke was seen billowing from the clock tower, it
was already too late to save the building. All that remained was the four outer
walls and some interior walls on the first floor. The courthouse sat abandoned
for six years before restoration work began with grants from the Texas Historical
Commission and other donations totaling around six million dollars. The courthouse
was going to be restored to its 1937 condition, the date of the last addition
to the building. Continuing problems with architects and contractors led to even
more delays. The new clock tower, manufactured in Utah, was installed on May 20,
2009. The restoration was completed in 2012 and the courthouse officially reopened
at a rededication ceremony on the courthouse square on December 8, 2012.
*The
Texas Historical Commission’s County Atlas lists the dates of construction for
the first two courthouses as ca.1846 and 1859.
Sources: Historical
and biographical information from The Handbook of Texas Online. Courthouse history
from the Texas Historical Commission County Atlas at http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-desig.htm,
The Courthouses of Texas by Mavis P. Kelsey & Donald H. Dyal and the Newton County
Historical Commission. |
 |
Newton
County Courthouse
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
The Present Newton County Courthouse
Built in 1902, The brick building appears older than it is. The Second Empire
Style had fallen out of favor at the time of its construction. It's still one
of the handsomest courthouses
in East Texas.
Architect
- Martin and Moodie
Style - Second Empire
Material - Brick
The
County was named for American Revolutionary Hero Sgt. John Newton. |
"The
front of Newton County Courthouse. Painters are putting the final touches on the
roof the day before the rededication."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
Newton
County Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
"The
reconstructed clock tower with open belfry was placed onto the roof of the courthouse
on May 20, 2009."
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
Looking
at the north entrance and staircase in the restored courthouse.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The
restored district courtroom. Some of the original wooden planks (with a few burn
marks) were reused in the courtroom floor."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"District
courtroom balcony showing part of the pressed metal ceiling."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The
judge’s bench in the district courtroom. The bench was reconstructed using photos
of the original."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"Spiral
staircase behind the judge’s bench. Hidden behind a false wall for years, it survived
the fire and was restored. The stairs lead to the commissioner’s courtroom on
the third floor."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The
1929 memorial bell and one of the clock faces survived the fire and are on display
on the north side of the courthouse."
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"The first Newton County courthouse, built in 1848 in Burkeville.
Photo from the Newton County Wall of History on the east side of the courthouse."
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
"Site of First Newton County Courthouse"
Centennial Marker in Burkeville.
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson December 2007 |
| "The
second Newton County courthouse, built in 1853 in Newton.
Photo from the Newton County Wall of History on the east side of the courthouse."
Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson December, 2012 |
Courthouse Fire"On
August 4, 2000, an electrical fire in the attic led to the destruction of the
courthouse. By the time the smoke was seen billowing from the clock tower, it
was already too late to save the building. All that remained was the four outer
walls and some interior walls on the first floor. The courthouse sat abandoned
for six years before restoration work began..." - Terry
Jeanson |
The courthouse on fire
Photo courtesy KJAS Radio |
Newton
County Courthouse two years after fire
Photo courtesy Lou Ann Herda, Ed.D, June 2002 |
Newton
County Courthouse before restoration
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, September 2004 |
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