Erath County Courthouse
Public Sq., Stephenville, TXAn outstanding example of Romanesque Revival design, the structure possesses considerable architectural significance. A picturesque. composition, it is among the many fine courthouses designed by J. Riely Gordon and represents the first phase in a three-step evolution of the traditional courthouse from a plan type based on a square with crossing corridors, to a plan type with a central open court, and finally to a plan in cruciform configuration with a central air shaft and masonry tower replacing the court of the second phase. As such, it has regional architectural significance and should be included among a group of county courthouses in Texas that represents Gordon's creative approach to the evolution of a unique courthouse plan.
Earth County was settled in the 1850s by John M. and William F. Stephen who established Stephenville which with the organization of the county in 1856 became the county seat.
The first courthouse in Erath County was a frame building built at the time the county was organized. This structure burned in 1866, destroying all county records. Following the fire, the Commissioners' Court leased a commercial building until the second courthouse was completed in 1867. A two-story structure of rock, it cost $11,876.00 and served the county for 24 years.
On June 14, 1891, the Fort Worth Daily Gazette reported that the Erath County Commissioners' Court was prepared to receive bids for the construction of a new courthouse. In the meantime, however, action on the matter was delayed pending the outcome of an election on the question of moving the county seat to Dublin. When the vote determined that the county seat would remain in Stephenville the Commissioners awarded the contract for construction of the county seat to architects J. Riely Gordon and D.E. Laub and contractor S.A. Tomlinson of Fort Worth. The contract cost was set at $59,173.00. Tomlinson was to raze the old courthouse at a cost of $350.00 making the total cost of the project $58,823.00.
On December 3, 1891, the cornerstone was laid with full Masonic ritual by the Stephenville Lodge Number 267. Inside the hollow cornerstone, "hewn out of our white limestone, with appropriate carvings and inscription"-were local newspapers, a pint of whiskey, and several pieces of jewelry.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.