You
don't have to go to a big city to see great architecture.
Some of the most stellar examples of the art are off
the beaten path in small towns. This is an excellent
example.
The
Caldwell County courthouse has just been renovated
and brought back to its original glory. Actually,
the word "original" may not apply, as this is the
third building to call itself the county courthouse.
It is not known if all of the Caldwell courthouses
had to fight the same financial battles this one did.
When it went up more than one hundred years ago people
complained that the price was too high. They also
complained that there wasn't any running water, and
thus no modern bathrooms. So the county judge (the
equivalent of a county commissioner or a freeholder
in other parts of the world) ordered some of the closets
be converted into rest rooms. That solved the problem,
but then the water bills started coming in. They were
astronomical for the time. So the county decided to
lock the extra bathrooms and people would just have
to suffer. The courthouse had a twin in Goliad County,
Texas. But in 1942 that building's central tower as
hit by lightning and removed. And in 1964 another
wing was added so it no longer resembles its older,
better looking, brother. The restoration work on the
courthouse is splendid, and it is worth a visit. The
only disappointing element of the building is how
severely it has been hemmed in by asphalt. You can
clearly see how the courthouse square has been eaten
away by ever-widening traffic lanes so that the building
that once stood as a powerful symbol of central Texas
law now looks like a buoy marooned on a traffic island.
- The
central tower has a four way Seth Thomas clock.
- The
walls are Muldoon limestone trimmed with red Pecos
sandstone.
