DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1824, a man named Don Martín de Leon sat down and platted a townsite — Guadalupe Victoria, he called it — and right from the start, he set aside public squares. One of those squares, he figured, ought to be shared.
City and county both. And for many years, that's exactly what happened. Now, Victoria County put up its first courthouse on that very square in 1849.
Two stories of brick, Greek Revival style, standing proud. It served the county well. But time has a way of making even a fine building feel a little small.
By 1891, the county was ready for something grander. Under the leadership of County Judge J.L. Dupree, the commissioners held a competition for new courthouse plans.
They awarded the contract to a San Antonio firm — Gordon and Laub — made up of a man named D.E. Laub and one J. Riely Gordon, who was already making a name for himself as an acclaimed courthouse architect.
Martin, Byrne and Johnston came on as general contractors. Everything seemed set. Here's where it gets interesting.
Gordon, it turns out, had a great many pressing commitments elsewhere — too many, apparently — and in May of 1892, he was discharged. Just like that, the commissioners court found themselves relying solely on Martin, Byrne and Johnston to see the thing through. Those contractors didn't just hold the line, either.
They added elements of their own to Gordon's original design. A noted architect named Eugene T. Heiner reviewed their work and approved it.
On January 1, 1893, the county accepted the completed building. Now, even with Gordon gone before the finish line, his fingerprints are all over that courthouse. His style drew from Romanesque Revival architecture — the kind championed by a man named Henry Hobson Richardson — and Gordon adapted those ideas specifically for the Texas climate.
He gave the building a central atrium to pull in light and move air through the place. The roof is hipped with cross gables. Corner pinnacles reach skyward.
And the stonework — polychromatic, they call it — plays with color in a way that makes the whole structure come alive in the sunlight. The atrium had a quieter chapter in the 1940s, when the county adapted it into offices. Then came 1961, and a need for even more space.
At that point, the residents of Victoria County stepped up and petitioned to save the courthouse rather than see it go. The county listened. They built new facilities on the northeast corner of the square and left the old building standing.
Then, at the turn of the 21st century, work was done to largely restore the courthouse to its original design. Don Martín de Leon set aside that square two centuries ago, and the people of Victoria County, it seems, decided it was worth keeping exactly what got built on it.
What the marker says
When Don Martín de Leon platted the original townsite of Guadalupe Victoria in 1824, he designated public squares, including one that would later be shared by city and county governments for many years. Victoria County built its first courthouse, a two-story brick structure, in 1849 on Courthouse Square. The Greek Revival building served the county for many years. In 1891, under leadership of County Judge J.L. Dupree, commissioners held a competition for new courthouse plans. They awarded the contract to the San Antonio firm of Gordon & Laub, comprised of acclaimed courthouse architect J. Riely Gordon and D.E. Laub. Martin, Byrne & Johnston served as general contractors. Due to Gordon's many pressing commitments, he was discharged in May 1892. The commissioners court relied solely on Martin, Byrne & Johnston, who added elements to Gordon's design. Their work was approved by Eugene T. Heiner, himself a noted architect, and the county accepted the completed building on January 1, 1893. As was his style, Gordon designed a courthouse reflecting the Romanesque Revival architecture of architect Henry Hobson Richardson. He adpated Richardson's ideas to the Texas climate, providing a central atrium to bring light and ventilation into the building, which features a hipped roof with cross gables, corner pinnacles and polychromatic stonework. In the 1940s, the county adapted the atrium to serve as offices. When the need for more space arose in 1961, residents petitioned to save the courthouse, and the county built new facilities on the northeast corner of the square. Work at the turn of the 21st century largely restored the courthouse to its original design. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1961