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The 1955 Waller
County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, July 2005 |
Waller
County has had four courthouses
The first was known as "The Texas House" and was a rented frame building.
The county paid $25 per month for the use of the structure. The first
jail was a one room log cabin and was located on the square.
In 1877 the first brick courthouse was constructed and a new
jail was built at the same time.
In 1892 this courthouse burned and was replaced by another brick building
in 1894.
This building stood until 1955.
A History of Waller County, published in 1973, stated that the 1894
structure "was torn down for a larger and even more attractive brick
three-story building in 1955." |
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The Waller
County Courthouse
A plain building
- built in 1955 of limestone and brick
Architect - Herbert Voelcker
TE photos, 2002 |
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The 1894 Waller
County Courthouse
1939 Photo Courtesy TxDoT |
Tragic
Event in the 1894 Waller County Courthouse
"It's a shame that this courthouse is no longer standing. It
was the site of an historic, yet tragic event. According to the Handbook
of Texas Online, John McPherson Pinckney a Confederate veteran, Waller
County Judge and U.S. Congressman, died from a gunshot wound at the
old Waller County courthouse on April 24, 1905 while trying to break
up a fight. Pinckney, a Prohibitionist, and the members of the Prohibition
League were meeting at the courthouse to discuss using the Texas Rangers
to enforce a newly enacted prohibition law. His brother, Thomas, and
two other men were also shot and killed. The publicity surrounding
this event in Hempstead, led to
the creation of the town's early nickname, "Six-Shooter Junction."
- Terry
Jeanson |
Another view
of the former courthouse, with Waller County jail
Old Postcard |
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