Gonzales County Courthouse
Encyclopedia
The Gonzales County Courthouse is located in Gonzales
in the U.S. state
of Texas
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Gonzales County, Texas in 1972. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
in 1966.
The courthouse was built in 1896 and is the second building to serve as the county courthouse. The first Gonzales courthouse burned on December 3, 1893. The current three-story building, designed J. Riely Gordon in Romanesque Revival style with eclectic
details, was built with red brick and a white limestone
trim. The brick came from St. Louis, MO and the limestone was cut from a nearby quarry owned by Firmin Maurin who in 1895 was hired as superintendent for construction of the courthouse. The contract was let on June 26, 1894 and the courthouse was completed on April 8, 1896. The structure cost $64,450. The building was extensively repaired in 1958 including receiving a new roof. The building received historic restoration in 1997.
Gonzales, Texas
Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gonzales County.-Geography:Gonzales is located at...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Gonzales County, Texas in 1972. It was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the state of Texas....
in 1966.
The courthouse was built in 1896 and is the second building to serve as the county courthouse. The first Gonzales courthouse burned on December 3, 1893. The current three-story building, designed J. Riely Gordon in Romanesque Revival style with eclectic
Eclecticism in art
Eclecticism is a kind of mixed style in the fine arts: "the borrowing of a variety of styles from different sources and combining them" . Significantly, Eclecticism hardly ever constituted a specific style in art: it is characterized by the fact that it was not a particular style...
details, was built with red brick and a white limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
trim. The brick came from St. Louis, MO and the limestone was cut from a nearby quarry owned by Firmin Maurin who in 1895 was hired as superintendent for construction of the courthouse. The contract was let on June 26, 1894 and the courthouse was completed on April 8, 1896. The structure cost $64,450. The building was extensively repaired in 1958 including receiving a new roof. The building received historic restoration in 1997.