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"
Wheeler County courthouse was restored and rededicated in 2004."
- Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2007 |
Historical
Marker Text Wheeler
County CourthouseNamed
for Royal T. Wheeler, an early Texas jurist, Wheeler County was created by the
Texas State Legislature in 1876. In 1879 the county was organized
and Mobeetie (then known as Sweetwater),
the only town in the county, became the county seat. A stone courthouse was erected
from locally quarried materials in 1880. That structure was replaced with
a wood frame building in 1888.
As the area grew and its center
changed, the town of Wheeler was officially designated the county seat in 1908.
The wooden courthouse was moved to this site, but by 1913 it was too small to
serve the county's needs. A separate building was erected on the southwest corner
of the courthouse square that year to house the county clerk's office; it was
enlarged in 1923. A bond election held in 1925 set aside funds for a new
courthouse. The 1888 courthouse was sold to Sheriff Riley Price, who dismantled
it and used the lumber to build barns on his ranch east of town.
Designed
by E. H. Eads of Shamrock, the edifice was built
by local contractors Hughes and Campbell. Featuring Palladian windows and Corinthian
columns characteristic of the Classical Revival style, the 1925 Wheeler County
Courthouse typifies the favored style of American public buildings of its time.
The 1913 county clerk's office was torn down in 1929; curbs and sidewalks were
in place after the summer of 1930. Gas heat and a water system were installed
in 1926. The streets on all four sides of the courthouse were paved in 1944 and
the surrounding streets in the late 1970s. Standing prominently on the town square,
the historic Wheeler County Courthouse continues to serve as the center of local
government.
Recorded
Texas Historic Landmark-2000 |
NOTE:
The
updated Kelsey and Dyal courthouse book lists four courthouses for Wheeler County
with the dates of 1880 and 1888 (in Mobeetie)
and 1907 and 1925 (in Wheeler.)
The historical
marker specifically states that the 1888 courthouse was moved to Wheeler
but replaced in 1913. So it seems that there are four courthouses dated 1880,
1888, 1913 and 1925.
However, the historical
marker also states that the 1913 building (enlarged in 1923) was used as the
county clerk's office, so it wasn't technically a new courthouse, just an annex.
The 1888 courthouse wasn't dismantled until the 1925 courthouse was being built.
So, technically, there were only three courthouses. 1880, 1888 and 1925. - Terry
Jeanson |
The
1925 Wheeler County Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy of TXDoT |
More
views of the 1925 Wheeler County courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2007 |
Wheeler
County courthouse entrance
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2007 |
Historical
marker on the west side of the courthouse.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September, 2007 |
"The
1888 Wheeler County courthouse in the first county seat of Mobeetie
was moved to the town of Wheeler when Wheeler
was elected as the new county seat in 1908. This picture of the 1888 wooden courthouse
is hanging in the district clerk's office in the current courthouse."
-
Terry
Jeanson, September, 2007
|
1936
Centennial Highway Marker
in front of Wheeler
County Courthouse
Photo
courtesy Barclay
Gibson, December 2008 |
Centennial
Marker Text Wheeler
CountyFormed
from Young and Bexar territories; created August 21, 1876; organized April 12,
1879. Named in honor of Royal T. Wheeler (1810-1864); Associate Justice of the
Supreme Court of Texas, 1844-1858; Chief Justice, 1858-1864; County Seat, Mobeetie,
1879-1906 Wheeler, since |
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