Atascosa County Courthouse - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Sometimes courthouses are nice but nothing to write home about, others are buildings that have you uttering the word, WOW as soon as you see them. Some courthouses are lost in a mass of buildings, others are out in the open at the top of a slight rise, proclaiming their standing as the seat of local government. It's not always that you come across one which has both the WOW and prime location, but that's what the Atascosa County Courthouse combines in the small town of Jourdonton.

A few years ago the county received a grant of 2.4 million dollars to renovate the old building. That returned it to the glory of the past and highlighted what is so aptly stated in the text on the historical marker: "...the building was designed by San Antonio architect Henry T. Phelps..., and ...has identical entries at each side. Mission Revival-style detail includes curvilinear parapets and occasional Renaissance motifs, accomplished with cast-stone highlights, metal balustrades, and tile roofing. The corners of the building are turned with three-story tower bays, each topped by an open belvedere."

It's a case of just not stopping to read a historical marker, walk around the building, climb the steps and go inside, you'll be glad you did. I know we were.

What's behind the sign.

Something of what's inside, but to see the rest you have to visit it yourself.

Marker Number: 224 Marker Text: Atascosa County was created from Bexar County in 1856. The first county seat was at Navatasco, on land donated by Jose Antonio Navarro, and the county's first courthouse was a log cabin. The county seat was moved to Pleasanton in 1858, and a frame courthouse was erected. A second courthouse was built in 1868, followed by a third, a red rock structure in 1885. When a special election resulted in the relocation of the county seat to Jourdanton in 1910, the county officers were first housed in rented quarters. The following year the Gordon-Jones Company began construction on a new courthouse. Completed in 1912, the building was designed by San Antonio architect Henry T. Phelps (1881-1945), who would also design the Atascosa County Jail in 1915. The two-story brick building has identical entries at each side. Mission Revival-style detail includes curvilinear parapets and occasional Renaissance motifs, accomplished with cast-stone highlights, metal balustrades, and tile roofing. The corners of the building are turned with three-story tower bays, each topped by an open belvedere. Later alterations to the courthouse replaced original windows and installed an elevator opposite the original stairwell. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986.

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Date Logged Log   09/19/2018 WalksfarTX visited it 09/14/2010 WTT-B2 visited it

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