| |
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 as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
Detail
over the front entrance
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 | |
|
