Fayette County Courthouse

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Fayette County Courthouse. Around 1890, word got around that Fayette County's third courthouse wasn't exactly standing on solid ground. Structurally speaking, things had come into question, and the commissioners court knew it was time to build something that would last.

So they went out and hired a San Antonio architect by the name of James Riely Gordon to design the new seat of justice and oversee its construction. Gordon was twenty-seven years old at the time. Twenty-seven.

And what he built here would go on to make his reputation across the whole state of Texas as a noted architect of public buildings. Now, a courthouse of this ambition doesn't come cheap. Fayette County raised the money through the sale of ninety thousand dollars in bonds, and the building contractors, Martin, Byrnes and Johnston out of Colorado City, got to work.

The years 1890 and 1891 belong to this building. Gordon went with the Romanesque Revival style, and if you've ever stood in front of this courthouse and looked up at those massive arched windows and doorways, you understand why that style suited him. He didn't stop at the silhouette, either.

Gordon specified four types of native Texas stone for the exterior: Blue Muldoon sandstone, Belton White limestone, Pecos Red sandstone, and Pink Burnet granite. Four different stones, pulled from the land itself, dressed up into something that was meant to endure. Step inside, and you'd find a central open atrium, designed right from the start to bring in good lighting and natural ventilation.

Practical and beautiful at the same time, which is its own kind of architectural ambition. The Fayette County Courthouse was completed in 1891, and it holds a distinction that still stands today: it is the oldest existing J. Riely Gordon courthouse in Texas.

Since those doors first opened, this place has been a setting for social events and celebrations, for courtroom dramas that the county still half-remembers, and for the kind of political oratory that echoes off stone walls better than anywhere else. And it continues, right now, as a center of politics and government for Fayette County. A twenty-seven-year-old architect, four kinds of Texas stone, and ninety thousand dollars in bonds.

Turns out that was exactly enough.

What the marker says

About 1890, the structural safety of Fayette County's third courthouse came into question, and plans began for the building of this structure to serve as the seat of justice for the county. The commissioners court hired San Antonio architect James Riely Gordon (1863-1937) to design the new courthouse and oversee the construction. Gordon, who was 27 years old at the time, went on to become a noted architect of public buildings in Texas. Funding for the 1890-91 courthouse came from the sale of $90,000 in bonds. Martin, Byrnes and Johnston of Colorado City served as building contractors. Gordon designed the courthouse in the Romanesque Revival style and specified four types of native Texas stone to detail the exterior: Blue Muldoon sandstone, Belton White limestone, Pecos Red sandstone and Pink Burnet granite. A central open atrium, designed to promote good lighting and natural ventilation, highlighted the interior space. The extensive use of stone, along with the massive arched windows and doorways, exemplify the building's Romanesque Revival influences. The oldest existing J. Riely Gordon courthouse in Texas, the Fayette County courthouse was completed in 1891. It has served as a setting for social events, celebrations, courtroom dramas and political oratory, and continues as a center of politics and government for the county. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001