The National Register of Historic
Places nomination form for the Bandera County, Texas Courthouse begins with the
statement
The three-Story rusticated cut limestone courthouse built in 1890-91 with a central clock tower, is the focal point of the Bandera public square, and the dominating architectural feature of the town
And, indeed it is dominating.
From anywhere in this charming Hill Country town that calls itself "The
Cowboy Capital of the World" the Courthouse's clock tower can be seen.
However, don't look up to see what time it is as the clock face is actually
painted on the tower. Time in Bandera is frozen at 10:10.
Bandera County was created in 1856
and the town of Bandera was designated as the county seat. From 1877-1891
the county used a coursed rubble limestone building built in 1856 as its
makeshift courthouse. The completion of the current day courthouse in 1891
was a sign of Bandera's post-Civil War prosperity.
B.F. Trester, Jr. of San Antonio,
Texas was chosen as the architect. In recent years an intriguing mystery about Trester and the design of the courthouse came to light in the discovery that an identical architectual twin existed in Boone County, KY. Today, the Boone County Courthouse is altered in appearance, but it's still easy to see the similarities. To read about this mystery and see comparison pictures click here.
On Friday, July 11, 1890 County Commissioners
accepted the bid of William Braden and Sons to construct the Courthouse
according to Trester's plans for a sum of $19,914.00. Sometime between that
time and February, 1890, Trester passed away at the age of 40 years and County
Commissioners appointed A.B. Frankel as supervising architect.
Trester's death was just one of the delays that would plague Braden in completing the project. These trials, including the walking off the job by Braden are detailed in The Bandera County Historian, Fall 1991 issue that commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Courthouse's completion.
This article describes how Braden used itinerant Russian rock masons to cut the limestone blocks from a quarry across the Medina River. Sand for the mortar was dug from along Indian Creek and hauled to the construction site by two local men. The blocks were lifted in place "in four-man slings up staircase-like scaffolds"; as a result there were no lifting holes drilled into the stone blocks.
During 1966-67 the interior underwent a remodeling, although I couldn't tell what might have been remodeled as it seemed to retain many of its original features. I did notice the wall-to-wall carpet in most areas of the building. At the same time a one-story addition to the east side of the building altered its façade. The windows were replace with modern aluminum frames.
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| Hallway of 1966-67 addition |
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| I966-67 addition in foreground |
In 1998 work to stabilize and repair the clock tower/cupola was undertaken after receiving an emergency grant from the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation program. Temporary shoring was used to stabilize the ceiling above the judges' bench in the district courtroom. The tower and cupola were reinforced and the metal roof replaced. Work was completed in 2006. Just to note I could not find any reference as to when and why the tower had been painted silver. To see before and after pictures click here.
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| District Courtroom, August 2018 |
A very kind bailiff or deputy sheriff took me into the courtroom and into several offices to see the original fireplaces.
