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The 1940 Ward
County Courthouse
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, 2005 |
The Present
Ward County Courthouse
- Monahans, Texas
Date - 1940
Architect - Townes & Funk
Style - Moderne
Material - Concrete & stone
The 1940 courthouse replaces the 1893
Ward County Courthouse that stood in Barstow,
now razed.
"The 1940 Ward County courthouse was built with a rooftop jail
which is no longer in use. The building has since been surrounded
by modern additions." - Terry
Jeanson |
A Brief History
of Ward County
Thomas
William Ward was a Texas soldier and land commissioner, while John
Monahans dug the first water well between the Pecos
River and Big Spring.
Barstow
was the First County Seat in Ward County (5 miles East of Pecos).
Barstow was named after George Eames Barstow, a brilliant pioneer
irrigation scientist from Rhode Island who used water from the
Pecos River to produce abundant and profitable fruit and grape
crops until a devastating flood and a succession of droughts stopped
things cold. Shortly after farming stopped in Barstow,
oil was discovered in Monahans. George Barstow came to West Texas
in 1905 and is now buried in the cemetery. The current population
of Barstow
is just over 500 people. |
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"The
entrance facade to the district courtroom is surrounded in black marble.
The statement above the door reads as follows:
WARD COUNTY BUILDING 1940 A.D.
Reverently dedicated to the men and women who, in the face of untold
menaces, have revealed to a needful nation this our empire and its
manifold treasures, leaving it an unforgotten heritage of courage,
hope, strength, freedom and honor." - Terry
Jeanson |
A map of Texas
in the tile floor outside the district courtroom with Ward County
highlighted.
Photo courtesy Terry
Jeanson, 2005 |
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The
Judge wore Spurs
TE Photo |
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The "Ward County Courthouse" when it was
temporarily housed at City Hall
1939 photo courtesy TXDoT |
The 1893 Ward
County Courthouse in Barstow
The former courthouse
built in 1893 was razed in the 1950s. The red sandstone used
for the courthouse was quarried locally and was also used in the construction
of the first bank in Ward County. |
The
former 1893 Ward County Courthouse in Barstow
Early 1900s photo courtesy texasoldphotos.com |
The courthouse
in Barstow
as it appeared in the mid-thirties right before the move to Monahans.
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
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