Dimmit County Courthouse

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official Texas Historical Commission marker has to say about the Dimmit County Courthouse. Now, a county named for a framer of the Texas Declaration of Independence deserves a courthouse with a little drama in its bones — and Dimmit County did not disappoint. The county itself was carved out of four other counties back in 1858, named in honor of one of the men who put his name to that Declaration.

It took a little while to get organized — formally, anyway — but by 1880, the county had pulled itself together, and Carrizo Springs was chosen as the county seat. A proper seat of government needed a proper house, and so the hunt for an architect began. On November 12, 1883, the county commissioners court made their choice: Alfred Giles, a noted architect with a reputation that carried weight across Texas.

Bold move. Fine choice. And then — not two weeks later, on November 26 of that same month — they changed their minds entirely.

The court reversed course and handed the job to J. C. Breeding and Sons of San Antonio, who would serve as both architects and builders.

Whether that decision stung Giles or not, history doesn't quite say. But here's the thing — Breeding and Sons probably worked from Giles' initial plans anyway. So Giles had the last laugh in the lumber, so to speak.

What rose up on that Carrizo Springs lot was a structure with a double gallery porch, a cubical form, and Italianate detailing — detailing that looked a whole lot like other Texas courthouses Alfred Giles was building around that same time. Make of that what you will. The courthouse served Dimmit County well enough through the late nineteenth century.

But by the 1920s, the county was thriving, growing, and that old building was straining at the seams. The commissioners court called in Henry T. Phelps to figure out what to do about it.

Phelps came in, took one look, and did not think small. At his instruction, the San Antonio Construction Company demolished the north second story wall, pulled exterior rock off the lower north and south walls, and added new, longer wings on each end of the building. Phelps was a man of Classical Revival conviction — symmetry was his religion — and so he relocated the main entrance to the west side of the building and gave it four massive columns and a recessed porch to make sure you knew exactly where to walk in.

The old nineteenth century windows got widened. The Second Empire roofline? Gone — replaced with an elaborate cornice.

By the time Phelps was done, that courthouse had shed its simplified Italianate skin entirely and come out the other side dressed in the restrained Classicism that was all the fashion in the 1920s. Two architects, two visions, one building — and somewhere in the walls of the Dimmit County Courthouse, if you listen close, you might still hear the echo of Alfred Giles' plans doing exactly what they were built to do.

What the marker says

Named for one of the framers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, Dimmit County was created from four other counties in 1858. The county was formally organized in 1880, and Carrizo Springs was chosen as the county seat. On November 12, 1883, the county commissioners court chose noted architect Alfred Giles to design a permanent courthouse for Dimmit County. Later that month, on November 26, the court reversed its decision and selected J. C. Breeding & Sons of San Antonio to act as both architects and builders. Probably working from Giles' initial plans, they erected a structure which featured a double gallery porch. The building's cubical form and Italianate detailing resemble Giles' designs for other Texas courthouses erected about the same time. By the 1920s, the thriving Dimmit County needed a larger government facility. The commissioners court called in Henry T. Phelps to design an expansion. At Phelps' instruction, the San Antonio Construction Company demolished the north second story wall, removing exterior rock from the lower north and south walls and adding new, longer wings on each end. As was his custom, Phelps worked along a Classical Revival plan, requiring a symmetrical façade. He relocated the main entrance to the west side of the building, highlighting it with four massive columns and a recessed porch. The 19th century windows were widened, and Phelps changed the Second Empire roofline to an elaborate cornice. The architectural character of the Dimmit County Courthouse was transformed from a simplified Italianate style of the late 1880s to the restrained Classicism popular in the 1920s. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2000