|
A mural in Wright
Plaza, just south of the courthouse, has renderings of three of the
Johnson County courthouses. The 1883 courthouse (left) and the 1913
courthouse (right,) both built in Cleburne,
and the 1854 courthouse (center) built in the first county seat of
Wardville.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
THE COURTHOUSES
OF JOHNSON COUNTY
Johnson
County was officially organized in 1854, formed from parts of
Ellis, Hill
and Navarro counties. It was named for Colonel Middleton Tate Johnson,
a Texas Ranger and member of the Republic of Texas Congress. The town
of Wardville served as the first
county seat. In 1854 the county’s first courthouse, a 14’ x 14’ log
cabin, was built there by William O’Neal. In 1856, the county seat
was moved to Buchanan and a 16’
x 16’ wood courthouse was completed there in 1858. The county’s third
courthouse was built in 1860, this time a two-story wood frame building.
In 1867, the western portion of Johnson
County was organized into Hood
County and Johnson
County needed a new, centralized county seat. The site of Camp
Henderson, which was established in the area during the Civil War
for its crossroads location and ample water supply, was chosen as
the new county seat. It was renamed Cleburne
after Confederate general Patrick Ronayne Cleburne. The courthouse
from Buchanan was moved to Cleburne
and used until 1869. The fourth Johnson County courthouse, and the
first one in Cleburne, was a square,
two-story brick building with a T-hallway inside, built by Joseph
W. Anderson in 1869. The county outgrew this courthouse by 1880 and
it was replaced by a new, elaborate, Second Empire style courthouse
in 1883.
The county’s fifth courthouse was completed on October 6, 1883
and stood where the current 1913
courthouse stands today. Designed by Wesley Clarke Dodson and
built by Lee Slaughter, the three story courthouse was built of red
brick and stone with a four-story clock tower. Dodson designed many
Texas courthouses similar to this one, including the courthouses in
nearby Hill,
Hood
and Parker
counties (still standing) and the courthouses in Anderson, Houston,
Hunt and Kaufman counties (no longer standing.) The cost of construction
was $44,685. On April 15, 1912, the same day that the RMS Titanic
sank, the 1883
courthouse burned down. City Marshal Abe B. Bledsoe, filling in
for his brother, Fire Chief Baylor Bledsoe, who was out of town, was
the sole casualty. He died while fighting the fire when part of the
roof collapsed on him. A stone from this courthouse with the carved
date of 1883 sits at the east side entrance of the 1913
courthouse.
In 1912, the commissioners court hired the Dallas architectural firm
of Lang and Witchell to design the county’s sixth and current courthouse.
Charles Erwin Barglebaugh, who worked with Lang and Witchell on the
1910 Harris County courthouse, also assisted in designing this courthouse.
Barglebaugh trained under architect Frank Lloyd Wright. Construction
began in 1912 and was completed by the end of 1913. This
courthouse was similar to two earlier courthouses Lang
and Witchell designed for Cooke County and Scurry
County (later drastically altered) in 1911. The architects utilized
the Prairie School style of architecture inspired by architects Frank
Lloyd Wright and Louis H. Sullivan. The dominant features included
a focus on horizontal lines, flat or hipped roofs and a disciplined
use of ornamentation.
The 1913
courthouse was closed in 2005 for exterior and interior restoration
work, which included restoring the original paint scheme on the walls
and restoring the original height of the district courtroom. County
offices were moved at that time to the 1918 Cleburne High School on
South Buffalo Street which was renovated into the Guinn Justice Center
in 2004. The exterior restoration of the 1913 courthouse was completed
in 2007 and the courthouse was rededicated on December 1, 2007. The
interior restoration was completed by March, 2008. Both buildings
continue to serve the county.
- Terry
Jeanson, May 19, 2012
Sourcess: Historical information from The Handbook of Texas
Online. Courthouse history from the Texas Historical Commission County
Atlas at http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/shell-desig.htm, “The Courthouses
of Texas” by Mavis P. Kelsey Sr. & Donald H. Dyal and The Cleburne
Times-Review, Volume 103, No. 76, “County Courthouse Fire 100 Years
Later,” by Matt Smith, April 15, 2012. |
 |
Johnson
County Courthouse
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
Present
Johnson County Courthouse
County Seat - Cleburne, Texas
Date
- 1913
Architect - Lang and Witchell with Charles E. Barglebaugh
Location - On the square
Style - Classical Revival with Prairie-style details
Materials - Elgin brick,
concrete and pink granite
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Restored in 2008
|
Johnson
County Courthouse Tower
"The ornate
geometric patterns that decorate the tower are repeated in the interior.
I understand that these are Prairie-style elements which was popular
in the early 20th Century. Numerous examples of this architectural
influence can be seen in nearby Fort
Worth. A good example is the Texas and Pacific Railroad building."
- Sam
Fenstermacher
Right: Photo courtesy Sam Fenstermacher, 4-04 |
 |
Johnson County
Courthouse Skylight
"[Photo taken] shortly after the old courthouse was refurbished
and cleaned up to its original beauty. I attended 4-H Teen Leader
Meetings there in the 1980's and the old glass was coming loose to
the point they had put chicken wire across it to keep it from falling
on people below. It's very beautiful and more open." - Otis L.
Gorman
More Texas
Courthouse Skylights |
Johnson County
Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo
courtesy TXDoT |
Johnson County
Courthouse
1930s postcard courtesy Paula McMichael Athey |
Rendering of
the current Johnson County courthouse
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
1883
Johnson County Courthouse
County Seat - Cleburne, Texas
"Second
Empire style building designed by famed Texas courthouse architect
Wesley Clarke Dodson. It burned down on April 15, 1912. (The date
on the plaque in the picture is incorrect.)" - Terry
Jeanson
|
1883
Johnson County courthouse designed by W.C. Dodson.
Photo courtesy THC |
1883 Johnson
County Courthouse
1910 Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/%7Etxpstcrd/ |
| "While
the rest of the country was waking up to the news about the sinking
of the Titanic, the citizens of Cleburne
were dealing with their own catastrophe as they witnessed the burning
of the 1883 Johnson County courthouse. This stone is all that remains."
- Terry
Jeanson |
Rendering of
the 1883 Johnson County courthouse.
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, February 2008 |
| "Rendering
of the 1854 log cabin that served as the first Johnson County courthouse
in the first county seat of Wardville.
It still stands at the Chisholm Trail Outdoor Museum west of Lake
Pat Cleburne. Burned by arson in May of 2007, it was restored and
reopened in December of 2007." - Terry
Jeanson |
|
First Johnson
County Courthouse now in display in Wardville
"Oldest log courthouse in Texas"
Photo courtesy Johnson County Chisholm Trail Museum
|
Johnson County
courthouse undergoing restoration
Photo
courtesy Terry
Jeanson, September 2006 |
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