DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my take on what the official marker has to say about this place — and friend, it's got more chapters than most novels. Now the Texas legislature, back in 1850, decided Falls County needed to exist. Simple enough.
But what it needed next was a courthouse, and what it got was a log cabin. Possibly right here on this very spot. That is how you start a county — with ambition, an axe, and some timber.
By 1855 the county seat itself got a new name. They'd been calling it Adams, but somebody decided Marlin had a better ring to it, and the courthouse square took shape around that same time. Progress was being made.
Then the second courthouse went up — native white cedar, which sounds lovely — and burned down around 1870. Texas and fire have always had a complicated relationship. So they built a third.
Completed by 1876. An 1886 storm damaged it. You almost have to admire the persistence.
Houston architect Eugene Heiner drew the plans for a fourth courthouse, completed in 1888. It deteriorated quickly. At this point Falls County had burned one, stormed one, and watched one simply give up.
County officials began seeking funding for something that might actually last. That something started taking shape in 1938. A county bond issue for a hundred and thirty thousand dollars was matched with a forty-five percent Public Works Administration grant.
Money in hand, the cornerstone was leveled by the Grand Lodge of Texas, A. F. and A. M., on the Fourth of July, 1939.
Independence Day. Somebody had a sense of occasion. The building was completed by December of that same year.
Now that is movin'. The man behind it all was architect Arthur E. Thomas of Dallas, who designed the whole thing in the Art Moderne style.
The contractors — Hill and Combs out of San Antonio — brought his vision to life. Much of the façade is Austin shellstone. The entry steps are Texas pink granite.
The symmetrical front is dominated by a three-story central entry tower, with key pattern stonework running across the tower parapet. Massive shellstone entry surrounds. Decorative corner pilasters.
The kind of details that say: we are not building another log cabin. Arthur E. Thomas went on to design various other notable structures in Texas from the late 1930s all the way to 1970 — other courthouses, projects for the Marlin Independent School District.
The man left his mark. Five courthouses in Falls County. One log cabin, one cedar building turned to ash, one storm-beaten ruin, one that quietly fell apart, and finally — finally — this one.
The 1939 Falls County courthouse still stands, still serving as the center of county government. After everything this county tried and lost, they built one that lasted. Sometimes it just takes a few tries to get a thing right.
What the marker says
The Texas legislature created Falls County in 1850. The first courthouse was a log cabin, possibly located on this site. In 1855 the county seat (then Adams) was renamed Marlin, and construction was completed on what became the courthouse square. The second courthouse, built of native white cedar, burned about 1870. The third courthouse was completed by 1876 but was damaged in an 1886 storm. Houston architect Eugene Heiner drew the plans for a fourth courthouse, which was completed in 1888. It deteriorated quickly, and county officials began to seek funding for a new edifice. Work began on a fifth Falls County courthouse in 1938. A county bond issue for $130,000 was matched with a 45% Public Works Administration grant in 1938. The cornerstone was leveled by the Grand Lodge of Texas, A. F. & A. M., on July 4, 1939, and the building was completed by December. Much of the façade is Austin shellstone; Texas pink granite makes up the entry steps. The courthouse was designed in the Art Moderne style by architect Arthur E. Thomas of Dallas, and was constructed by San Antonio contractors Hill and Combs. Its symmetrical façade is dominated by a three-story central entry tower with key pattern stonework across the tower parapet. Among its unusual features are the massive shellstone entry surrounds and decorative corner pilasters. Arthur E. Thomas designed various other notable structures in Texas from the late 1930s to 1970, including other courthouses and projects for the Marlin Independent School District. The 1939 Falls County courthouse continues to serve as the center of county government. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2000