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The present Calhoun
County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, July 2015 |
THE COURTHOUSES
OF CALHOUN COUNTY
By Terry
Jeanson
Before county organization, the earliest settlement in what is now
Calhoun County
was Linnville, which was established
in 1831, and it soon became an important port. After the disastrous
Council
House Fight in San
Antonio in March of 1840, where many Comanche Indians were killed
during supposed peace talks, the Comanches raided the towns of Victoria
and Linnville in August of that
year, resulting in the destruction of Linnville.
The town’s residents fled three and a half miles southwest to a small
settlement that was eventually named Lavaca in 1841. Meaning “the
cow” in Spanish, the name Lavaca
reflected the importance that cattle would have on the local economy.
In 1844, German settlers, led by Prince Carl of Solms-Braunfels, arrived
at Indian Point and built a tent-city, initially called Karlshafen,
which was set up to welcome other German settlers that were bound
for German settlements further inland. As the settlement grew, the
name was changed to Indianola
in 1849.
Calhoun County
was officially organized in 1846, named for John C. Calhoun, a South
Carolina politician who advocated Texas statehood and the United States
vice president under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. Lavaca
was named the county seat and the first courthouse was built there
the same year. However, the rapid population growth and importance
of Indianola
as a port and transportation center led county residents to move the
county seat there in 1852.
The second
county courthouse, built of shell concrete and lime, was completed
in Indianola
in 1857 (1859 according to the granite marker at the site) and designed
by architect Edward Beaumont. As Indianola
grew, Lavaca’s population declined,
but the citizens managed to steal the county seat title away from
Indianola
during the Civil War in 1864, claiming that county officials there
swore allegiance to the Union while Federal troops occupied the city.
Indianola
retained their county seat status the following year. Lavaca
continued to decline, suffering great damage after a hurricane on
September 16, 1875 which also devastated Indianola.
Another hurricane on August 20, 1886 practically obliterated Indianola
and the town was abandoned. The county seat was moved in 1887 to Lavaca
which then became known as Port Lavaca.
Today, a large red granite rock near the end of S. Ocean Drive in
Indianola
marks the location of the former courthouse.
The third
Calhoun County courthouse was completed in 1887 in Port
Lavaca and was built by E.L. Miller on the grounds of the current
courthouse. It was a 50’ x 50’ frame building built in the Greek Revival
style popular in Texas after the Civil War, but it had additional
embellishments, such as iron cresting in the center of the hipped
roof and angular heads above the doors and windows.
The county outgrew this courthouse quickly and the
fourth courthouse was under construction by 1910. Completed in
1911, it was built by the Falls City Construction Company and designed
by the Chamberlain and Co. architectural firm, who also designed the
1910
Deaf Smith County courthouse and the 1911
San Saba County courthouse. The brick courthouse contained Classical
Revival style elements such as a projecting portico with four columns,
frieze and pediment and paired columns on the sides. The architectural
style of this building was also referred to as Texas Renaissance in
that it utilized Texas symbols such as the Lone Star in the center
of its pediment. The frieze also contained the inscription “From the
People to the People” which is also found in the frieze of the courthouse
in San Saba. This courthouse stood until 1959 when the fifth
and current Calhoun County courthouse was constructed. This Modern
style courthouse was designed by Houston
architects Rustay and Martin and built by the D. W. Marshall Construction
Corporation using concrete, steel and aluminum. The long facades of
aluminum and glass indicate the interior office spaces with a vertical
tower announcing the entrance. This courthouse contained a jail on
the top floor which was used until it was shut down by the Texas Commission
on Jail Standards in 2001, forcing the county to house inmates in
other counties. The discovery of a health-threatening mold in the
courthouse led to a renovation in 2005 and 2006 during which the interior
was gutted. A new 144-bed jail behind the courthouse was also being
built at that time and opened in 2006.
Terry
Jeanson
July 30, 2015
Sources:
The Handbook of Texas Online; The Texas Historical Commission’s County
Atlas at http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-county.htm; The World
Almanac and Book of Facts; The People’s Architecture: Texas Courthouses,
Jails, and Municipal Buildings by Willard B. Robinson, 1983; The Courthouses
of Texas by Mavis P.Kelsey Sr. and Donald H. Dyal, 2nd edition, 2007;
Calhoun County: Images of America by George Anne Cormier and the Calhoun
County Museum, 2013; The Victoria Advocate, “Calhoun County moving
forward on new jail, courthouse renovation” by Louise Popplewell,
March 7, 2003; The Victoria Advocate, “Calhoun courthouse emptied
out so renovations can begin” by Louise Popplewell, June 16, 2005. |
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1959 Calhoun
County Courthouse front entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, July 2015 |
The Present
Calhoun County Courthouse
- Port Lavaca
Date - 1959
Architect - Rustay and Martin
Style - Modern
Material - concrete, steel, aluminum. |
The 1959 Calhoun
County Courthouse cornerstone
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, July 2015 |
Calhoun County
Courthouse before the 2005-06 renovation
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2005 |
| Postcard
courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
The 1911 Calhoun
County Courthouse
1939 photo Courtesy of TxDoT |
"Built by
Falls City Construction Company.
Accepted as complete by the Commissioner’s Court on May 10, 1911"
- George Anne Cormier, Director, Calhoun County Museum
2-story
Classical Revival/Texas Renaissance style
Demolished 1959 |
Cornerstone of
the 1911 Calhoun County courthouse at the entrance to the Calhoun
County Museum.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, July 2015 |
|
"This photo
of the 1911 Calhoun County courthouse (taken c.1911) is on display
in the lobby of the current courthouse."
- Terry
Jeanson, April, 2005 photo
|
Greek Revival
style
"Built by E. L Miller.
Accepted by the Commissioner’s Court on September 1, 1887
The Calhoun County jail building can be seen in the left background."
- George Anne Cormier, Director, Calhoun County Museum
Photographer's Note:
The county seat was moved to Port
Lavaca after a hurricane destroyed the previous county seat of
Indianola
in 1886. - Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
"This photo
of the 1887 Calhoun County courthouse in Port
Lavaca is hanging in the second floor lobby of the current courthouse."
- Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, April, 2005 |
| "Destroyed
in the 1886 hurricane, part of the building's foundation can still
be seen at low tide in Indianola."
- Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 |
Second
Calhoun County courthouse ruins in Indianola
Photo circa 1945 courtsy THC |
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