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up on top of the courthouse
is a clock that was installed in 1896. It worked like clockwork
until nobody was left who could repair it. It wasn't until 1990 before
Henry Christian of Gonzales
contributed money and time for the repairs. Now it works as good as
ever, except for the time before the last hanging. |
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Gonzales County
Courthouse Clock Tower
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, February 2009
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On March 18, 1921, while awaiting his death, convicted killer Albert
Howard cursed the clock forever. Legend has it that while he was awaiting
his execution, Howard would look outside the cell window and concentrate
on the number of hours he had left to live. He swore to those who
would listen (and many who wouldn't) that his innocence would be proven
by the clock. He claimed that the hands of the four clocks would never
show the same time again. Sure enough, he was hanged, and the clocks
went haywire.
I wanted to fly up and have a closer inspection, but Bison Bill insisted
that the legend was too good to debunk, so we left it at that. |
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1939
photo courtesy TXDoT
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