DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it — the story of the courthouses of McLennan County. Now, some counties get one courthouse and call it a life. McLennan County?
McLennan County went through four of them. And every single one tells you something about where this place was headed. It starts in January 1850, when the Texas Legislature carved McLennan County out of portions of Robertson and Milam counties, naming it for Neil McLennan, who had settled along the South Bosque River.
The ink wasn't even dry before the Commissioners Court got to work. By September of that same year, they were already making preparations for a two-story log court building. Completed in August 1851.
In the meantime, county judge R.E.B. Baylor held court in a private schoolhouse, because justice, apparently, does not wait on construction crews. But log doesn't last forever — or at least, ambition outgrows it.
By 1856, McLennan County needed something bigger, something grander. In August of that year, they levied taxes to raise funds for a brick building, and brought in Robert H. Smith and N.M.
Saunders as contractors. Now, brick sounds like progress. Brick sounds permanent.
Except this particular brick building had problems. Serious problems. Two people died because of faulty second floor doors.
Two fatalities. That's not a footnote — that's a reckoning. And so in the mid-1870s, the county built a new courthouse and jail.
This time, they called on noted architect W.C. Dodson to design the thing. Builders J.W.
Mann and Bro., and Trice and Harris, finished it in July 1877. What Dodson gave them was a two-story brick building with a Mansard roof and a clock tower, and the county celebrated its beauty. And it was beautiful.
For a while, it was everything McLennan County needed. But here's the thing about a growing county — it keeps growing. By 1900, even Dodson's celebrated courthouse had become too small.
And here's where the story gets a little gracious: Dodson himself recommended that the county accept the plans of James Riely Gordon, renowned throughout Texas and other parts of the nation for his courthouse designs. That's a man secure enough in his craft to hand the next chapter to someone else. The Commissioners Court awarded the construction contract to Tom Lovell of Denton, and on March 3, 1902, they accepted the finished building.
What they received was a magnificent Renaissance Revival courthouse, crowned with statues of eagles, and Themis, and Justitia, and Liberty — watching over Waco from up high, like they've got something to say about the whole enterprise. One hundred years later, in September 2002, the people of McLennan County gathered to celebrate the centennial of that fourth courts building. Four courthouses.
From a two-story log structure to a Renaissance Revival landmark draped in symbols of justice — each one a measure of how far the county had come, and a quiet promise about where it intends to go.
What the marker says
In January 1850, the Texas Legislature created McLennan County from portions of Robertson and Milam counties, naming it for Neil McLennan, who had settled along the South Bosque River. In September of that year, the Commissioners Court began preparations for constructing a two-story log court building, which was completed in August 1851. During construction, county judge R.E.B. Baylor held court in a private schoolhouse. By 1856, the county needed a larger courthouse. In August, they levied taxes to raise funds for a brick building, and Robert H. Smith and N. M. Saunders served as contractors. Because of problems with the structure, including two fatalities due to faulty second floor doors, the county built a new courthouse and jail in the mid-1870s. Noted architect W.C. Dodson designed the structure, completed in July 1877 by builders J.W. Mann & Bro., and Trice & Harris. Dodson's design, a two-story brick building, featured a Mansard roof and clock tower, and was celebrated for its beauty. By 1900, however, it also became too small for the county's needs. Dodson recommended that the county accept the plans of James Riely Gordon, renowned throughout Texas and other parts of the nation for his courthouse designs. The Commissioners Court awarded the construction contract to Tom Lovell of Denton and accepted the finished building on March 3, 1902. One hundred years later, in September 2002, McLennan County residents celebrated the centennial of their fourth courts building, a magnificent Renaissance Revival courthouse crowned with statues of eagles as well as Themis, Justitia and Liberty. Today, the building remains an emblem of pride and justice, a link to the county's history and a symbol of its future. (2005)