Courthouse Christmas: Hamilton County, Hamilton, Texas

photo by Nicolas Henderson, fables98, used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license

Like Hood County, Hamilton County's courthouse is being renovated (above), but only the exterior.  It has been in pretty bad shape (see photo on the left), with paint peeling on the columns, so the work was much needed.  It's quite different now with a cupola on the top that apparently was only briefly there after its last renovation in 1931.  The Texas Historical Commission grant for the renovation required that the cupola be included, but there's been some controversy locally about that, since the cupola was only on the courthouse a short time.

Nevertheless, the lighting for the cupola is quite dramatic (below right), and I can see this as a focal point for future holiday decorations!

The courthouses I've featured this week are in towns we pass through regularly, when we head south to see family in Austin or meet my parents for lunch in towns between ours and theirs.

Historical marker text for Hamilton County Courthouse:

"Before era of this impressive courthouse, Hamilton County's government was housed in stores, a rustic school, a former livery stable, a 2-story building with top floor especially designed for a courtroom, and briefly in a saloon. Fire razed two of the early, improvised courthouses. First permanent one, built 1878, also burned in 1886.
In those days, outlaws were so numerous that guards were hired to protect visiting judges.
This 1887 structure of native limestone, quarried 2 miles east of Hamilton, remained unchanged until it was remodeled in 1931.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2004"

© Amanda Pape - 2010