Duval County Courthouse

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Duval County Courthouse. Now, every county's got a story, and Duval County's starts on a single day. November 7, 1876.

Local residents voted to organize the county, and just like that, a place called San Diego, Texas, had a future to build toward. Two years on, a man named N.G. Collins, who would go on to serve in the Texas legislature, did what good civic-minded men do.

He arranged a deal. Lots 7, 8, and 9 of block 36 in San Diego, owned by a fellow named E.D. Sidbury, were sold to the county for a courthouse and a jail.

You need a place to make law, and you need a place to keep folks who've forgotten about it. By 1879, Duval County had its courthouse. A two-story frame building, thirty-one by fifty-one feet, sitting proud on the north half of the square.

Cost the county three thousand, seven hundred dollars. For a while, that was enough. For a while.

August 11, 1914. Fire. The courthouse was severely damaged, and Duval County found itself at a crossroads.

You can mourn a building, or you can build a better one. The county chose the latter, and first things first, they went ahead and bought the remaining nine lots of block 36. Might as well own the whole block if you're starting over.

They brought in Fort Worth architects, Marshall R. Sanguinet and Carl G. Staats, along with their partner R.D.

Gottlieb. These men drew up a classical revival courthouse, priced at seventy thousand, six hundred and eighty-five dollars. A significant step up from thirty-seven hundred.

The county contracted L.G. Hamilton to build the thing, and by 1916, under the administration of county judge G.A. Parr, the new courthouse was complete.

And what a courthouse it is. Rectangular. Tripartite in structure.

Reddish-brown iron spot brick masonry veneer on the outside, a rusticated base down low, quoined corners at the edges. Stone entablature above paired wooden doors. Monumental entry steps.

Doric stylized capitals. Stone cornice with dentils and medallions at the main entry pediment and door hood. That is not a building that apologizes for existing.

Then in 1938, the county added an annex, attached to the main courthouse by a one-story hyphen. Architects Page and Southerland designed it in a style similar to the original, matching brick and steel casement windows, so the two structures would speak the same architectural language. Now here's the thing about a courthouse like this one.

It doesn't just hold court. The Duval County Courthouse has been at the center of political conventions, LULAC meetings, auctions, spelling bees, employment fairs, and shelter for people following natural disasters. It is also remembered, and the marker does not shy from this, as a centerpiece of the multi-generation Parr political machine.

History doesn't always arrive in tidy packages. The courthouse stands today, still the hub of the community and the county. Born of a vote in 1876, forged by fire in 1914, rebuilt by 1916, and still going.

Some buildings just refuse to step aside.

What the marker says

On November 7, 1876, local residents voted to organize Duval County. Two years later, N.G. Collins, who would later serve in the Texas legislature, arranged the sale of lots 7, 8, and 9 of block 36 in San Diego, owned by E.D. Sidbury, to the county for a courthouse and jail. A $3,700 two-story 31-by-51-foot frame courthouse, sited on the north half of the square, opened in 1879. However, the courthouse was severely damaged in a fire on August 11, 1914. To build a new courthouse, the county purchased the remaining nine lots of block 36. Fort Worth architects Marshall R. Sanguinet & Carl G. Staats, with their partner R.D. Gottlieb, designed a classical revival courthouse for $70,685. The county contracted L.G. Hamilton to build the structure. The courthouse was completed in 1916 under the administration of county judge G.A. Parr. The rectangular tripartite structure features a reddish-brown iron spot brick masonry veneer with a rusticated base and quoined corners. Stone entablature above paired wooden doors highlights monumental entry steps. Exterior ornamentation includes Doric stylized capitals, stone cornice with dentils and medallions at main entry pediment and door hood. In 1938, an annex, attached to the main courthouse with a one-story hyphen, was designed by architects Page & Southerland in a style similar to the original 1916 structure, including matching brick and steel casement windows. The Duval County courthouse has been at the center of the community's social, civic and cultural life, including political conventions, LULAC meetings, auctions, spelling bees, employment fairs, and shelter following natural disasters. It is also remembered as a centerpiece of the multi-generation parr political machine. The courthouse continues to be a hub of the community and the county. (Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 2011)