Team studies local courthouse

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Preservationists from the Texas Historical Commission were in town last Tuesay and Wednesday, August 19 and 20, to study the Donley County Courthouse for the Texas Courthouse Alliance Project.

The Alliance was created to survey some of the oldest and least-documented county courthouses in the state. Information gleaned from the project will be used to create public awareness of the importance of preserving these treasured landmarks.

The team was generally impressed with Donley’s historic courthouse but did notice some areas for concern.

Bradford Patterson, a consultant with the commission, said there are three main things that need to be addressed about the courthouse. 

First is the condition of the wooden windows which Patterson said look as though they haven’t been painted in decades.  Right now, much of the original wood could still be saved, and only small parts would have to be replaced, he said.  But the wood has begun to rot.

Another problem the team found was the stonework in the building.  It is cracking and flaking off.  Patterson said the stonework doesn’t present a structural problem right now, but that it will gradually look worse and worse.

The team didn’t know what was causing the stone to deteriorate, but Patterson suspects that it was the way the stone was laid.  “If you don’t orient the stone the same direction as it was quarried, it will have trouble carrying the load of the structure,” Patterson said.

There are a few different ways to correct the problems with the stonework.  All of them are expensive and time consuming, and none of them are worth pursuing until the cause of the problem can be positively identified.

The third problem the team found was moisture getting into the building.  The team members suspect this may be caused by the rain gutters’ downspouts emptying too close to the building.

“It’s a shame that [the courthouse] is in this condition,” Patterson said, “because it’s one of a kind.  There is not another courthouse even similar to this one anywhere in the state of Texas.

“Even with the third story gone, it is still unique.”

The Donley County Courthouse was built in 1891 and originally sported a third story.  Accounts vary as to why and when the top floor was removed.

“We’ve seen things like this [third floor removal] across the state,” said Jay Firsching, a member of the team.  “Sometimes a county would just tear down a bell tower or remove a third story in order to make the building look more modern.”

Out of 254 counties in the state, 223 are home to courthouses of historical significance — more than any other state.  Of these, only 55 are in the Courthouse Alliance, and there are only three in the Texas Panhandle — Randall and Hartley counties being the other two.

Funded through a federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) grant, the Alliance project documents the county courthouses in Texas and develops a preservation plan, including historical documentation, preservation recommendations, and copies of new or original drawings for the courthouse. State courthouses are selected based on architectural significance, age, current status of records, degree of threat to the building, and interest of the local government.

The alliance will present a report to the County Commissioners sometime in October, highlighting problems with the condition of the building and propose ways to preserve the building.

Currently the historical commission doesn’t have the money to preserve all of the historic courthouses.  But by documenting these courthouses and making that information available to the public via the Internet and libraries, team members hope to raise awareness of the importance of these structures.

For more information about the Texas Historical Commission or the Courthouse Alliance, contact the THC at (512) 463-6100 or e-mail at thc@nueces.thc.state.tx.us