By
Texas Historical Commission
The Bosque County Courthouse is located in the center of the public square of a
town laid out in 1854 and a county
created also in 1854. Located near the geographical center of the county (named
after the Spanish term meaning woods),
the town (named after a nearby stream) was platted by George B. Erath.
The present courthouse was the fourth in the county. The first,
a one-room cabin with walls of vertical pickets and
hand-riven oak weatherboards erected in 1851 on a lot north of the public
square, served until 1860; the second courthouse,
a three-room frame building, burned in 1871; the third, a two-story stone
structure, forty-six feet square and erected in 1875,
served until some county residents determined that a new modern edifice was
needed.
Constructed in 1886-1887, the fourth courthouse was
controversial since many residents believed that a proposed $60,000
edifice would bankrupt the county. Reportedly, the intensity of disagreement
between the "courthouse party" and the
"anti-courthouse party" reached riot intensity at the time the 1875 edifice was
to be razed. However, peace prevailed but
today this dispute over construction is reflected on the cornerstone, where the
names of the county judge and only two
of the four county commissioners appear.
Although the courthouse was centered on the square, requiring
the usual entrance on each of the four sides, the plan, 83
feet by 85 feet 6 inches overall, differed slightly from some of the courthouses
built in surrounding counties. On the south,
west, and north sides, the doors are centered but on the east, where the
dominant tower was located, the entrance was shifted
off-center to allow a ground-floor courtroom to be centered under the
symmetrically positioned tower. Also on the ground
floor were located the offices of tax collector, county judge, county attorney,
and county treasurer.
On the second floor were the district courtroom, offices for
district judge, district clerk, and others. The courtroom extended
the length of the building on an eastwest axis and was entered at the sides from
stair landings on the north and south--an
efficient arrangement or circulation. The judge's bench was located over the
ground floor courtroom in the projecting mass
framing the base of the tower.
The courthouse was built of beautiful white limestone obtained
from a quarry near Meridian. Specifications called for the
footings of the exterior walls to be five feet in width and made of stone. These
along with the foundation wall up to the level
of the watertable were to be set with Portland cement mortar; above the water
table lime mortar was used throughout. The
wall from grade line to the watertable was battered three inches and was
constructed of pitch-faced ashlar. Above this level
fine cut stone was used for the exterior walls. Hard limestone was employed for
the steps and door sills.
The interior was finished in straightforward fashion, with walls
plastered and painted white. "White pine" was specified for
doors, door frames, and window sashes; "Texas pine" was specified for the window
frames. The courtroom ceiling was
stamped galvanized iron; the floors were finished with concrete; and the stairs
were fabricated from cast iron manufactured
by J.E. Bolles, Detroit, Michigan. Glass was to be "Saint Louis best plate."
Above the walls rose the roofs which were composed in
picturesque massings. Over the corner pavilions were hipped roofs
connected by mansard roofs, all covered with metallic shingles in diamond
patterns. Flat sections of roof were covered with
tin with standing seams and the tower was clad with stamped galvanized iron
components. A cast-iron cresting decorated the
ridges of the roofs.
In 1935, supported by funds from the Federal Emergency
Administration of Public Works, alterations were made to the
courthouse and an addition was made to the west side. The tower was removed
along with the hipped roofs over the corner
pavilions and the mansard roofs were replaced with walls. Roy E. Lane was the
architect and O. K. Johnson the contractor
for these alterations.
The building possesses considerable architectural merit due to
its association with a prominent West Texas architect, its
stylistic character, and the technology incorporated into it. Moreover,
throughout its history the building has remained the
most prominent structure in the county. Early in 1886 the Commissionaires Court
of Bosque County announced that on
February 23 they would examine plans for a new courthouse. The following day, J.
J. Kane of Fort Worth, Texas, was
appointed architect and awarded a commission of 5% of the construction
cost--Kane designed numerous structures in West
Texas including a Catholic Church, Fort Worth, a monumental stone edifice, and
he served as the president of the Texas
Association of Architects in 1888.
As was often the case during the last two decades of the
nineteenth century, stylistic features intended to produce picturesque,
yet dignity of expression were incorporated into the courthouse. Roman arches
rising above slender engaged columns, and
heavy rusticated pilasters reflect the Renaissance Revival style. On the ground
story the arches have pronounced keystones
while on the top story the arches have gracefully molded archivolts. Also
consistent with the classical style, a well defined
base formed the beginning of the wall composition and a bold galvanized-iron
cornice formed the termination. Handsome
rosettes carved from stone accent the pilasters and ornamental stone details
terminate the wall below the cornice. The tower,
however, had Gothic details, including small turrets on the corners. Other
elements not associated with style but rather with
the expression of purpose included the statue of justice, stamped from copper,
and star motifs.
The structure also incorporated noteworthy technology in a
relatively isolated location. Aspiring to develop fireproof
construction, J. J. Kane utilized iron and concrete floor systems. The ground
floor consisted of a rough four-inch Portland
cement concrete slab placed over a fill of broken stone, sand, and waste
material; then a coat of Portland cement concrete
was placed and "blocked off in nine-inch squares." The second and third floors
were supported by iron I-beams which
supported corrugated iron arches over which was placed concrete, blocked into
squares.
BIBLIOGRAPHY ON FILE IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER
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County Coordinator:
Gayle Triller
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