Strawn City Hall

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Strawn City Hall, right there in Palo Pinto County. Now, Strawn didn't waste any time once it got its act together. The city incorporated in 1917, and they held that very first council meeting in a hall inside a local bank building.

Which, you have to admit, is either very practical or very optimistic, depending on how you look at it. But here's the thing about Strawn. Oil, gas, and coal had a way of changin' the math on a town real fast.

That economic boom sent the city's population all the way up to five thousand people by 1920. Five thousand. In Palo Pinto County.

So the city fathers looked around, looked at each other, and in 1921 they issued bonds for a proper city hall. A real one. Something that said we are here, and we intend to stay.

They brought in David S. Castle, an architect out of Abilene, and he gave them something worth the wait. The building went up in 1923, and it is classically inspired, the kind of design that carries itself with a straight back.

Cast stone detailing in the arched entry. Quoins at the corners. A parapet up top, and a decorative brick cornice to tie it all together.

It didn't just serve the city. It announced it. From a first meeting in a borrowed bank room to a landmark that still stands, Strawn built itself a hall worth remembering.

What the marker says

The city of Strawn, incorporated in 1917, held its first council meeting in a hall at a local bank building. During an oil, gas, and coal inspired economic boom the city's population reached 5,000 in 1920, and in 1921 bonds for a city hall were issued. This handsome classically-inspired local landmark was designed by Abilene architect David S. Castle and built in 1923. It features cast stone detailing in its arched entry, quoins, and parapet, and a decorative brick cornice. (1995)