Milam County Courthouse

Built in 1892 in Renaissance Revival architectual style by architect Larmour & Watson.

The Milam County Courthouse, designed in the Renaissance Revival style by Larmour & Watson, was constructed in 1892. The building has a cruciform plan with bisecting corridors that provide access to the offices on the ground floor. Stairs at the east and west entrances provide access to the upper stories. A spacious district courtroom occupies a large volume in the second and third stories. Additional offices are provided on these levels in the areas not occupied by the courtroom. The floor plan has been somewhat modified to meet changing needs. These modifications included closing the north entrance and converting the hallway into office space. Upper floor areas have also been modified to create more office space. On the exterior, each of the four facades has a central entrance pavilion emphasized by a portico and a triangular pediment. A central tower, clad with a decorative sheet metal skin and rising above the mansard roof, originally dominated the entire building. Four clock faces projected from the mansard roof covering the tower. Surmounting the clock faces was a cupola that supported a statue of the Goddess of Justice. The north and south facades are identical five-part compositions, while the east and west are three-part designs. The three-part vertical composition conforms to the typical Renaissance tradition: the base was emphasized by quarry-faced ashlar masonry; the center section, encompassing two stories, was tied together with pilasters of cut stone in colossal order, with Corinthian capitals and smooth shafts supported upon pedestals; and the terminal section of the composition was formed by a wide entablature originally formed with sheet metal. The openings are varied, including double and triple window openings spanned by lintels and contained within panels formed by pilasters, paired windows spanned with Roman arches with cut stone voussoirs, and single windows spanned by Roman arches with quarry-faced voussoirs. Further embellishment is provided by a cut-stone water table that forms a base for the ground-story masonry, while a strongly profiled cut-stone stringcourse terminates the first floor. Above the second story appears another cut-stone stringcourse, which is subtler in scale and which follows the window spandrels and walls in and out. During the 1930s, many details were removed. The Goddess of Justice statue, which had been the target of at least one sharp shooter, was taken down. Then the exterior sheet metal work, which evidently had deteriorated, was removed. The tower was also removed at this time. In addition, the entablatures and roof balustrade were replaced by the new cut-stone parapet that now conceals the roof. More recent alterations include installation of new glass and aluminum doors and window sashes.

Tower removed in 19301996 Williams Company plans to reconstruct the tower.- ISTEA Grant - restore the roof, clock tower and the 'Goddess of Justice' statue of the 1892 courthouse. Project scheduled to be let locally in Feb. 1998.

Current status: Active Courthouse