Fredericksburg Memorial Library
a.k.a. McDermatt Building
Courthouse Sq., Fredericksburg, TXThe first Gillespie County Courthouse, completed in 1855, was a two-story limestone building with a gallery in front, two rooms downstairs, and a courtroom upstairs.
In 1881, the county commissioners decided that a new court-house was necessary. A competition was held with a fifty-dollar prize for the best plan for a two-story courthouse. Requirements of the courthouse as listed by the commissioners were: six rooms and two vaults downstairs and a large courtroom and two offices upstairs. Provisions for heating and ventilation were requested. Two architects submitted plans but County Judge William Wahrmund and the Gillespie County Commissioners chose those of Alfred Giles of San Antonio and commissioned him on November 28, 1881.
Mr. Giles received a fee of one thousand dollars. The construction contract went to John Heinen and James Courtney for twenty-three thousand dollars. To finance the new building, seventeen thousand acres of school land in West Texas were sold.
Mr. Giles requested that the best materials be used throughout the building. Limestone for the foundation and walls came from Dietz Quarries two and a half miles northwest of town. John Dechert Quarries near Luckenbach supplied the white limestone for the trim. Heavy double doors with raised panels set in molding were made for the four entrances and the upstairs courtroom. Copper was used for distinctive locks and doorknobs, the latter showing an interesting hummingbird design. The handsome building completed in 1882 set in a city square with grass and trees, displays excellence in design and craftsmanship.
In 1939 the present courthouse was constructed and the old courthouse was, for twenty-seven years, used as offices and storage for numerous organizations. In 1967 the structure was restored and now houses the Pioneer Memorial Library with a community meeting hall on the upper floor. The old Gillespie County Courthouse was restored through the generosity of Mr. & Mrs. Eugene McDermott,
architect.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
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.