|
Chambers County
Courthouse
Front entrance facing Washington Ave.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
The Courthouses
of Chambers County
by Terry
Jeanson
Although Anglo settlement of this area started decades before, Chambers
County wasn’t officially organized until 1858, cut from Liberty
and Jefferson
counties. The county’s first courthouse was built in the first county
seat of Wallisville in 1858, but
it was destroyed by an arsonist in December of 1875, taking with it
most of the county records. The 1869
school house, restored and still standing in the Wallisville Heritage
Park, served as the courthouse until the county's second courthouse
was built in 1886.
The 1886
courthouse was constructed of brick and stone in the Renaissance
Revival style by contractor August Baumbach. A brick jail was built
nearby in 1894 with a tower for the gallows that was never used. The
design of the jail was almost exactly the same as the historic 1892
Crockett County jail still standing in Ozona,
TX. A dispute over roaming livestock in Wallisville,
known as the "County Seat Hog War," led to an election that relocated
the county seat to Anahuac in 1908.
A 1915 hurricane almost destroyed Wallisville
and severely damaged the courthouse and jail buildings. The 1894 jail
was torn down and the 1886
courthouse was finally demolished in 1948.
The county's third courthouse was completed in the new county seat
of Anahuac in 1912. The Classical Revival
style brick building was designed by F.W. Steinmar and served the
county until it burned down on April 28, 1935.
The fourth and current courthouse was built in 1936 with shell limestone
in an Art-Moderne style and designed by Houston architect Corneil
G. Curtis, who also designed the 1931
Liberty County courthouse. Partially funded by the WPA, the $276,000
project included a jail on the top floor that was used until 1983.
The 1936 courthouse has many examples of Art-Deco ornamentation and
retains most of its original exterior and interior appearance.
Sources:
The Texas Historical Commission - http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm,
The Wallisville Heritage Park - http://www.wallisville.com/ and
"Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas" by Edward A. Blackburn, Jr.
© Terry
Jeanson
October 27, 2010 |
The Present
Chambers County Courthouse
- Anahuac, Texas
Date - 1936
Architect - Cornell G. Curtis
Style - Moderne
Material - Limestone and cement
Location - Anahuac
The 1936 Chambers County Courthouse is a WPA project on Washington
Ave and Stonewall St. It is impossible to miss since there are few
competing structures in town. |
Chambers County
Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
Chambers County
Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
Detail over the
front entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
Chambers County
Courthouse architectural details - Medallions
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
"Art-Deco
style lamppost at the front entrance. Unfortunately, the glass panels
in many of the lampposts have been broken."
- Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
"The interior
of the courthouse still has its original tile, marble wainscoting
and Art-Deco style chandeliers."
- Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
"The judge's
pulpit in the district courtroom. The inset at the top right of this
picture shows some of the Art-Deco style ornamentation in the woodwork
behind the judge's bench."
- Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
The Third Chambers
County Courthouse - 1912
Anahuac, Texas
"The county's
third courthouse was completed in the new county seat of Anahuac
in 1912. The Classical Revival style brick building was designed by
F.W. Steinmar and served the county until it burned down on April
28, 1935." - Terry
Jeanson |
The
1912 Chambers County Courthouse in Anahuac
Photo courtesy of the Wallisville Heritage Park. |
The Second
Chambers County Courthouse, 1886 -
Wallisville, Texas
"The 1886
courthouse was constructed of brick and stone in the Renaissance Revival
style by contractor August Baumbach. A brick jail was built nearby
in 1894 with a tower for the gallows that was never used. The design
of the jail was almost exactly the same as the historic 1892 Crockett
County jail still standing in Ozona,
TX. A dispute over roaming livestock in Wallisville,
known as the "County Seat Hog War," led to an election that relocated
the county seat to Anahuac in 1908.
A 1915 hurricane almost destroyed Wallisville
and severely damaged the courthouse and jail buildings. The 1894 jail
was torn down and the 1886 courthouse was finally demolished in 1948."
- Terry
Jeanson |
|
1886
Chambers County courthouse in Wallisville
Photo courtesy of the Wallisville Heritage Park.
|
A collector's
plate in the current courthouse shows the 1894 Chambers County jail
(top left) and the 1886 Chambers County courthouse (bottom right.)
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
"The
county’s first courthouse was built in the first county seat of
Wallisville in 1858, but it was
destroyed by an arsonist in December of 1875, taking with it most
of the county records.
The 1869 school house, restored and still standing in the Wallisville
Heritage Park, served as the courthouse until the county's second
courthouse was built in 1886." - Terry
Jeanson |
"This restored
1869 school house, now sitting in the Wallisville Heritage Park, served
as the courthouse after the county's first courthouse burned down
in 1875."
- Terry
Jeanson, October 2010 |
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