Lavaca County Courthouse - Hallettsville, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 29° 26.692 W 096° 56.571
14R E 699524 N 3259035
The Lavaca County Courthouse is located in the center of downtown Hallettsville, Texas. It was built in 1897-1899 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Waymark Code: WMRN50
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/11/2016
Views: 9
Erected in 1897 and completed 2 years later, the Lavaca County Courthouse was the 5th structure to serve as the judicial office of this Texas county (which was organized in 1846), and the 3rd structure on the current site once the county seat was moved to Hallettsville in 1852. Designed by architect Eugene T. Heiner, the 3-story structure still serves the community to this date.
Per the
Texas Historical Commission's Atlas website:
"On March 8, 1897, the Lavaca County Commissioner's Court approved the construction of a new courthouse and decided that the building would be placed in the center of the courthouse square, on the same site as the two previous courthouses. Eugene T. Heiner was hired to design the courthouse; A. T. Lucas was hired to build it. Heiner chose to design the building in the Romanesque Revival style, and the end result is strongly reminiscent of the landmark Allegheny County Courthouse of 1884 by H. H. Richardson in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. For this reason, the style is often dubbed "Richardsonian Romanesque." The three-story Lavaca County Courthouse, built from 1897-1899, is constructed of Mills County Gray Limestone and sandstone from Mineral Wells, Texas. The structure sits in the center of the Hallettsville courthouse square and is laid out in a cruciform plan with one leg of the cross slightly longer than the other three. At the end of each wing, an arch springs from a cluster of short columns, forming a covered entry. A two-story segmental arch differentiates the entry on the longest wing of the structure. Heavy towers with pyramidal roofs and gabled dormers flank the side arms of the cross-shaped structure. The stone of the building has a quarry-faced, rusticated finish. The upper corners of the courthouse are accented by small ornamental stone turrets. Most of the windows on the second and third floors are set in pairs, framed within large two-story stone arches. The window arrangement of the courthouse is comprised of one-over-one, double-hung sash windows. A tall and slender clock tower rises above the central hall of the courthouse. All four sides of the tower feature two-story narrow windows topped by a clock face outlined by a Roman arch. The top story of the tower has an open deck with colonnaded circular balconies on each facade. The tower is crowned with a four-sided pyramidal roof. All roof areas were originally black slate and featured iron cresting that accented the roofline. Unfortunately both the slate and cresting have been removed, significantly altering the roof's appearance. The interior of the courthouse has beautiful encaustic tile floors and wood wainscoting in the public areas. Two grand cast iron staircases lead to the upper floors. Public offices dominate the first two floors with the large double-height district courtroom on the second floor. The third floor originally housed jury dormitories, which featured with wash basins, closets and a well-equipped bathroom. The gallery for the courtroom was also located on the third floor. The walls of the courthouse were originally decorated with stenciling, infill painting and freehand painting (Kubicek, p. 52). The courthouse was considered very modern for the times because it contained several indoor public lavatories, wash basins in numerous offices, and electricity. Although some modifications have been made to the courthouse's interior, the building retains a remarkable amount of its historic integrity."
The courthouse has gone through several renovations during the 20th century, all the while preserving it original historical significance. Past renovations included:
* A basement remodel and additional indoor offices in 1936
* Restoration of its wooden windows in 1974
* Masonry restoration and cleaning in 1978
* Installation of an elevator in 1988
* Electrical and mechanical renovations in 1997
The last round of renovations occured in 2009-2010: ornate interiors were restored, the elevator was relocated to a more historically sensitive location, a new HVAC system was installed, and major repairs to the building’s windows were made once again.