Lamar County Courthouse

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of the Lamar County Courthouse in Paris, Texas. Now, there's a phrase you don't want to hear about something built to last — "once thought indestructible." That's exactly what folks said about Lamar County's massive 1897 Romanesque courthouse and its tower, standing proud in the heart of Paris. Massive.

Romanesque. Built to outlast generations. And then came March 1916.

The fire that tore through downtown Paris that month didn't just singe the edges of things. It left downtown in ruins. And that courthouse — that monument to permanence — was ravaged right along with everything else.

So now Paris had a problem. A big, smoldering, rubble-strewn problem. The county didn't sit on its hands long.

On April 20, 1916 — just weeks after the fire — the Lamar County Commissioners Court got to work. They chose local designers and builders William G. Barry, Edwin R.

Smith, and Elmer George Withers to team up with the Fort Worth architectural firm of Sanguinet and Staats to design something new. The county judge, the commissioners court, and Carl G. Staats himself reviewed designs of several courthouses around the state.

They weren't just picking wallpaper here — they were deciding what Paris would look like for the next century. Now, some Paris residents had a notion. They wanted the new courthouse built smack in the center of its lot, in keeping with the city's plans for wide roads around the town square.

A fresh start, spread out nice and grand. But the commissioners court had other ideas. They decided it would be more efficient to build the new structure right on top of the same foundation as the old one.

Sometimes practical wins out over picturesque. Meanwhile, someone had to deal with what was left standing — and by July 1916, the upper ruins of the old courthouse had been dismantled. Then in late August, the commissioners chose J.

C. Buchanan and J. N.

Gilder of Fort Worth as contractors. These weren't strangers to the work — they'd done significant work rebuilding Paris after the fire. Construction began in September.

Here's the thing that makes this story something more than just a building project. By the time construction got underway, restoration and renovation of several other buildings around the square was nearing completion. Downtown Paris was pulling itself back together, taking on a modern appearance right before people's eyes.

A town deciding it isn't done yet — that's something to see. The new courthouse was completed by November 1917. And what they built was something to reckon with.

Fireproof concrete covered by rough pink granite — and here's the detail that catches you — that granite was salvaged from the 1897 building. The old courthouse, the one the fire took, became part of what rose in its place. The Classical edifice they raised features corner pavilions and engaged granite columns, a Classical cornice with matching terra cotta ornament — eagles and medallions among the notable touches.

And those primary entrances, marked by triple-arched porticos, echo the Romanesque style of the original structure. A nod, in stone, to what came before. A courthouse built on the bones of the one the fire couldn't quite kill.

Paris, Texas looked at the ruins and built something that remembered them. That's how you answer a fire.

What the marker says

The March 1916 fire that left downtown Paris in ruins ravaged Lamar County's massive 1897 Romanesque courthouse and tower, once thought indestructible. On April 20, 1916, the Lamar County Commissioners Court chose local designers and builders William G. Barry, Edwin R. Smith and Elmer George Withers to work with the Fort Worth architectural firm of Sanguinet & Staats to design a new courthouse. The county judge and commissioners court and Carl G. Staats reviewed the designs of several courthouses around the state. Some Paris residents requested that the new courthouse be built in the center of its lot in keeping with the city's plans for wide roads at the town square, but the court decided that it would be more efficient to build the new structure upon the same foundation as the old courthouse. The upper ruins of the old courthouse were dismantled by July 1916. In late August the commissioners chose J. C. Buchanan and J. N. Gilder of Fort Worth, who did significant work in rebuilding Paris after the fire, to serve as contractors. Construction began in September. By that time the restoration and renovation of several other buildings around the square was nearing completion, and downtown Paris took on a modern appearance. Completed by November 1917, the new courthouse was built of fireproof concrete covered by rough pink granite salvaged from the 1897 building. Distinctive features of the imposing Classical edifice include corner pavilions and engaged granite columns and the Classical cornice with matching terra cotta ornament (notably eagles and medallions). Marked by triple-arched porticos, the primary entrances echo the Romanesque style of the original structure. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark-2000