| |
| Kinney
County has had three courthouses: 1869,
1879 and 1910 |
The
1910 Kinney County Courthouse today
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, January 2009 |
Date - 1910
Architect - L.L. Thurman of Dallas
Style - Beaux-Arts
Material
- Brick
KINNEY
COUNTY COURTHOUSEPhotographer's
Note
It is not uncommon
for people to approach me when I am photographing county courthouses. They generally
fall into two categories. Those who understand my interest and those who don't.
During my visit to Brackettville in
January of 2009, I met Tully Shahan and he definitely falls into the former category.
After working at the courthouse for over thirty years, he now has his own law
office across from the courthouse. He encouraged me to explore the interior and
look at the copies of the original blueprints for the courthouse which are framed
and hanging on the walls on the first and second floors. A close examination of
these blueprints reveal changes that have been made to the building over the years,
but the courthouse maintains much of its original exterior condition without any
modern additions. Designed in a Beaux-Arts style, the courthouse was completed
in 1911, built mostly of buff brick with D’Hanis
red brick on the corner quoins. The most striking features of this building are
the octagonal towers framing the front entrance and the octagonal clock tower.
The clock tower received some restoration work in 2005. Mr. Shahan told me that
the clock still works, but the county does not have anyone who can wind it on
a regular basis. |
| Mr.
Shahan seemed disappointed that there weren’t more people that were interested
in maintaining and restoring the courthouse, which is nearly 100 years old, but
he seemed optimistic for the building’s future. It wasn’t until after my discussion
with Mr. Shahan that I discovered that he is the son of Virginia Webb Shahan and
James T. “Happy” Shahan on whose ranch the Alamo Village was built for the 1960
John Wayne movie, “The Alamo.” A six time mayor of Brackettville,
Happy Shahan is honored with a plaque inside the courthouse which denotes him
as the “Father of the Texas Film Industry” and the man who made Brackettville
“The Movie Capitol of Texas.” - Terry
Jeanson, January 14, 2009 |
|
East
view of Kinney County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, January 2009 |
| The
courthouse clock tower, which received some restoration work in 2005. Photo courtesy
Terry
Jeanson |
| "The
Seth Thomas clockworks (with a date of November 5th, 1910) sits in a case outside
of the district courtroom. Although working, there is currently no one available
to wind it on a regular basis." - Terry
Jeanson, January 2009 |
Northwest
view of Kinney County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, January 2009 |
The
1910 Kinney County Courthouse nearing completion
Photo courtesy THC |
The
1879 former Kinney County Courthouse today
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, January 2009 |
| "This building
on the courthouse square was built in 1878-79 and served as the first county-owned
courthouse. When the current courthouse was completed in 1911, this building served
as the headquarters of the Las Moras Masonic Lodge. The first floor was used as
a post office from 1918 to 1983." - Terry
Jeanson |
Early
image of the 1879 Kinney County Courthouse
Vintage photo courtesy THC |
The
1869 Kinney County Courthouse
Old Photo courtesy THC | |
|
