Site of 1896 Van Zandt County Courthouse

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Way back in 1894, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court looked around at the old frame courthouse, the one that had been holding things together since shortly after the Civil War, and decided it was time for something grander. They approved construction of a new brick courthouse, right here on this very site.

Now, they didn't just hire anybody. They brought in J. Riely Gordon, a noted San Antonio architect, and Gordon had a vision.

He drew up plans in the Richardsonian Romanesque style, which is just as serious and imposing as it sounds. The building went up between 1894 and 1896, and when it was done, Van Zandt County had something to talk about. Built on a Greek cross plan, it rose three stories in the main structure, and then, right at the center, a tower climbed six stories into the Texas sky.

And sitting at the very top of that tower, a copper eagle statue, looking out over everything. You have to picture it. A courthouse that didn't just say law and order, it announced it.

Well, that's the part of this story that stings a little. For all its Roman arches and that copper eagle riding the top of a six-story tower, the building was torn down in the 1930s. Gone.

What stands here now is the memory of it, and this marker, placed during the Texas Sesquicentennial, marking one hundred and fifty years from 1836 to 1986. The eagle flew for a while. Sometimes that's all a thing gets.

What the marker says

In 1894, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court approved construction of a new brick courthouse at this site. Built between 1894 and 1896, it replaced a frame courthouse that had served the county since shortly after the Civil War. The noted San Antonio Architect J. Riely Gordon designed the 1896 courthouse in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Built on a Greek cross plan, it features a three-story main structure and a six-story central tower with a copper eagle statue at the top. The building was torn down in the 1930s. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986