Courthouses of Palo Pinto County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the courthouses of Palo Pinto County. Now settle in, because this county went through some buildings before it got it right. Palo Pinto County was created in 1856, named for a creek south of where you're standin', a creek that was perhaps named by Spanish explorers of the Brazos River Valley.

Perhaps. History leaves that door open just a crack. The county seat was surveyed right at the geographical center of 320 acres, and they gave it a name that had some ambition to it.

They called it Golconda. That name didn't last. But we'll get there.

First things first. A court session in 1857 called for a courthouse, and the specifications were not exactly grand. Wood frame construction.

Two doors. Three windows. The contract was awarded at a bid of three hundred dollars.

Three hundred dollars for a courthouse. You can almost hear the gavel. Then, in 1859, the town quietly shed the name Golconda and took on the name Palo Pinto.

The little wood frame building held things together for a while, but by 1882, ambitions had grown considerably. The Texas Legislature had just allowed counties to issue bonds for new courthouses, and Palo Pinto did not hesitate. A large sandstone structure went up, and this was no modest affair.

Thirty-five thousand dollars. Second Empire styling. A central clock tower.

That sandstone came from quarries south of the city, pulled right out of the local earth. In 1906 they added a two-story sandstone annex and connected it to the courthouse by an iron bridge. An iron bridge between buildings.

That's a detail worth picturing. Two sandstone buildings joined in the air. Then came 1940, and somebody made the call.

Both buildings were demolished. Work Projects Administration workers erected a new courthouse in their place, a reinforced-concrete structure with subtle classical detail. And here's the part that ties it all together.

Some of that sandstone from the old buildings, the same stone quarried south of the city, was used to clad the new one. The past dressed up the future. The work was completed in 1942, at a cost of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.

From three hundred dollars to two hundred and fifty thousand. From Golconda to Palo Pinto. From two doors and three windows to a clock tower to an iron bridge to concrete clad in its own history.

That courthouse has earned its ground.

What the marker says

Palo Pinto County was created in 1856 and named for a creek south of here that was perhaps named by Spanish explorers of the Brazos River Valley. The county seat of 320 acres was surveyed at its geographical center and was originally named Golconda. A court session in 1857 called for the first courthouse to be built of wood frame construction, with two doors and three windows. The contract was awarded to a bid of $300. Shortly after, in 1859, the town name was changed to Palo Pinto. In 1882, just after the Texas Legislature allowed counties to issue bonds for new courthouses, a large sandstone structure was built. It cost $35,000 and exhibited Second Empire styling with a central clock tower. A two story sandstone annex was added in 1906 and connected to the courthouse by an iron bridge. Sandstone for the buildings was quarried south of the city. In 1940 these buildings were demolished and a new courthouse was erected by Work Projects Administration workers. The reinforced-concrete structure featured subtle classical detail and was clad with some of the sandstone from the old buildings. It was completed in 1942 at a cost of $250,000. (1986)