Jeff Davis County Courthouse Tower Clock - Fort Davis, TX
Posted by: 
Raven
N 30° 35.310 W 103° 53.712
13R E 605924 N 3384518
A set of 4 "Beaux-Arts" style clocks mounted on the tower of the 1910-1911 Classic Revival Jeff Davis County Courthouse, located in the center of downtown Fort Davis, Texas.
Waymark Code: WMT7PF
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/10/2016
Views: 1
Per an old Texas historical marker on site:
"Designed by the architectural firm of l. L. Thurman and Co. of Dallas, this building was erected in 1910-1911 and replaced [a] original 1880 adobe courthouse. This concrete and stone Classical Revival edifice, erected by the Falls City Construction Company of Louisville, Kentucky, is dominated by a massive portico supported by Doric columns. Other distinctive design elements include the alternating horizontal bands of pink rusticated stone made of locally quarried materials and the Beaux Arts style clock tower, which features a Seth Thomas timepiece. The courthouse continues as the seat of local government."
As the clocks were meant to be seen from across town and be as effective as possible, they do not possess many ornate characteristics: a black central face with stylized golden hands surrounded by golden Roman numerals. One interesting point to note was the choice of representation for the number "4", depicted as "IIII" instead of the classical "IV".
The Seth Thomas timepiece was one of only a handful of manually operated clocks still in existence within the state until improper winding damaged a gear. It was repaired in 2003 during a courthouse restoration by the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program: an automatic rewind system was installed to eliminate the need for county personnel to climb to the clockworks level of the clock tower dome to rewind the clock.
Status: Working
Display: Mounted
Year built: 01/01/1911
Web link to additional info: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Photo of clock.