Hutchinson County Courthouse

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Hutchinson County Courthouse. Now settle in, because this building's got a story with more moves than a tumbleweed in a West Texas wind. Hutchinson County itself was named for a prominent judge and writer by the name of Anderson Hutchinson, and it was carved out of the District of Bexar back in 1876, one of fifty-four counties the Texas Legislature created all at once.

Fifty-four. That's not county-making, that's county-manufacturing. But here's the thing about Hutchinson County: it got created in 1876, and then it just sort of sat there.

It wasn't officially organized until 1901. A full quarter-century of existence before anybody really got the paperwork going. When they finally did organize, the county seat was a town called Plemons, and that year, 1901, a temporary courthouse went up to hold things together.

Eventually a permanent courthouse followed, built in Plemons by a contractor named E. E. Ackers.

Solid. Done. Or so it seemed.

Because in 1926, Plemons lost the county seat to a town called Stinnett. Just like that, the center of gravity shifted. The county courthouse got temporarily parked in an office building in downtown Stinnett while everyone figured out the next move.

And the next move turned out to be something worth waiting for. In 1927, right in the middle of major oil discoveries in the area, a new courthouse went up in Stinnett. Not a stopgap, not a placeholder.

A Spanish Renaissance Revival style building, designed by an Amarillo architect named W. C. Townes and built by local contractor C.

S. Lambie and Company. Brick construction, cut-stone ornamentation, a three-bay primary facade with a grand entry bay, a raised basement with end entries, metal sash windows, and second-floor windows with round-arch stone lintels.

It also housed the county jail, because in 1927 Hutchinson County was not messin' around. And here's the detail that really earns its place in the story. The friezes at the east and west entrances of the courthouse depict the petroleum, farm and ranch, and cattle industries.

The three principal commercial enterprises in the area, carved right into the building's face for anyone passing through to read. Oil, land, and livestock, the whole biography of the county, written in stone at the door. That courthouse didn't just serve Hutchinson County.

It told you exactly what Hutchinson County was made of before you ever stepped inside.

What the marker says

Hutchinson County, named for prominent judge and writer Anderson Hutchinson, was one of 54 counties created out of the District of Bexar in 1876 by the Texas Legislature. It was not until 1901, however, that the county was officially organized. That year a temporary county courthouse was erected in the county seat of Plemons. A permanent courthouse was built in Plemons by contractor E. E. Ackers. Stinnett replaced Plemons as Hutchinson County seat in 1926. The county courthouse was temporarily housed in an office building in downtown Stinnett in 1926 before this courthouse was erected in 1927 at a time of major oil discoveries in the area. Designed by Amarillo architect W. C. Townes and built by local contractor C. S. Lambie & Company, the Spanish Renaissance Revival style building also housed the county jail. It features brick construction with cut-stone ornamentation, a 3-bay primary facade with grand entry bay, raised basement with end entries, metal sash windows and second floor window with round-arch stone lintels. Friezes at the east and west entrances of the courthouse depict the petroleum, farm and ranch, and cattle industries, historically the three principal commercial enterprises in the area. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1962