World War Clock Memorial - Gainesville, TX - World War I Memorials and Monuments on Waymarking.com

The plaque features Victory, personified, spreading her wings over our troops. Our sailors are to her proper right, our soldiers are to her proper left. Victory stands atop a sphere that separates two flags, and the sphere says "1917 Victory 1919." There is this dedication:

The Clock In The Tower
Is An Affectionate Memorial To The
Cooke County Soldiers And Sailors
But Their Deeds And Their Sacrifices
Are A Memorial Before God

Ora R Anderson
Travis Williams Anderson
Edgar Albert Baker
Larkin Barnard
Roger D Bird
Joseph H Block
Sherman Frank Brockman
Martin Luther Brown
William Charles Cobb
Lee Cobble
Richard Bland Cunningham
James Madison Curb
Sam Dennis
Lewis Golden Dixon
Hugh Downard
William Haskell Edwards
Ernest W. Ellerton
Jasper Gardner
Audie Franklin Gentry
Jacob Wayne Gentry
Emory Hobbs
Thomas Urban Hughes
Leon Jirasek
William H. Keele
John R Lewis
Joe Lockhart
James A Manahan
Albert Sidney Morris
Warren P Murchison
William Archie Norman
John S Rosenberger
Otis Strickland
Edward Sullivan
Sam Tune
Thomas Fountain Witt
John Steveson, Colored

Note the final name: His name was actually "Steverson," and it is a sign of the times that the memorial's creators felt a need in 1920 to single him out because he was "colored." According to Ron Melugin's "Heroes, Scoundrels, and Angels," Steverson enlisted in the army at Fort Sill, OK in 1918. He was stationed in Virginia before going overseas, where he died of pneumonia about six months after his arrival. He was in the 805th Company of the 302 Stevedore Regiment, and is buried in historic Fairview Cemetery in Gainesville. A photo of his headstone is in the gallery.

The courthouse is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and a 1988 Texas Historical Marker provides some background:

Settlement of the area now known as Cooke County began in late 1845. The county was created by the state legislature in 1848 and named for William G. Cooke, Republic of Texas Quartermaster General and a participant in the Battle of San Jacinto. Land for a county seat was donated by Mary E. Clark, and the new town was named Gainesville in honor of U.S. Army General Edmund Pendleton Gaines.

There have been four courthouses located on this site. The first, a small log structure, was erected in 1850. It was replaced in 1853 by a one-story frame building which was later destroyed by fire. The third courthouse, a two-story limestone structure, was completed in 1880 and destroyed by fire in 1909.

Designed by the Dallas architectural firm of Lang and Witchell, construction of this Beaux Arts style courthouse began in 1910. The Gainesville firm of Garrett and Collins served as supervising architects, and M.P. Kelly of Gainesville was the contractor. The impressive brick and limestone building features terra cotta ornamentation, eagle brackets, and a copper-clad dome. Clocks were added to the dome in 1920 as a World War I memorial. The courthouse is an important North Texas landmark.

Date the Monument or Memorial was built or dedicated: 01/01/1920 Private or Public Monument?: Government Name of the Private Organization or Government Entity that built this Monument: Cooke County, TX Geographic Region where the Monument is located: North America Physical Address of Monument: 101 S Dixon St Gainesville, TX USA 76240 Rate this waymark: Photo or photos will be uploaded.: yes Website for this Monument: Not listed

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