DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker outside the Colorado County Courthouse is the source here, and I'm just the one lucky enough to tell it. Now, if you want a building with a story, you pull up to Columbus and you look at that courthouse. It went up in 1890 and 1891, built in the form of a Greek cross — which sounds like a blueprint drawn by somebody with grand ambitions, and it was.
Contractors Martin, Byrne and Johnson put it together out of brick and Belton stone. And when it came time to lay the cornerstone, the local Masonic Lodge did the honors. Solid from the ground up.
By any measure, it's a survivor. At the time this marker was placed, it stood among only 28 of the oldest existing courthouses across Texas' 254 counties. That's a short list.
But here's where the story gets interesting. In 1909, a tornado came through and severely damaged the building. Now, the courthouse took a beating — but the detail that really sticks is what happened to the large bell sitting up in that cupola-clock tower.
That bell fell a hundred and twenty feet and was completely buried in the earth. Not knocked loose. Not cracked.
Buried. In the ground. One hundred and twenty feet down from where it had been keeping time.
In the aftermath, somebody in the county seat did the math on priorities, and the fifteen-dollar-a-month job of clock-winder was subsequently canceled. Can't say that's a surprising conclusion when your clock's bell is underground. During the repairs that followed, workers added the present copper dome — the one you see gleaming up there today.
Then, in 1939, the entire building was remodeled. So what you're looking at when you drive through Columbus is a Greek cross of brick and stone that survived a tornado, swallowed a bell whole, and kept standing. Fifteen dollars a month wasn't enough to wind that clock.
But apparently nothing was enough to stop that courthouse.
What the marker says
This classic revival building--erected in 1890-1891 in form of a Greek cross--is now one of 28 oldest existing courthouses in Texas' 254 counties. Contractors Martin, Byrne & Johnson built the structure of brick and Belton stone. Local Masonic Lodge laid cornerstone. In 1909 a tornado severely damaged building. Large bell in cupola-clock tower fell 120 feet and was completely buried in the earth. $15-a-month job of clock-winder was subsequently canceled. During repairs, present copper dome was added. In 1939 entire building was remodeled. RTHL - 1969