Ellis County Courthouse Historic District

Within the twenty-five square blocks around the Ellis County Courthouse square in the central business district of Waxahachie, Texas, are located over fifty buildings and engineering structures representing the booming economy of the cotton industry during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Known at one time as the "Queen City of the Cotton Belt," Waxahachie enjoyed the finest amenities the bustling economy could provide for many years. Because of its good fortune during the time when labor and materials were cheap and its location in a semi-rural area, the town has been able to retain an early twentieth-century quality both in appearance and lifestyle.

The beginning of the town of Waxahachie dates from 1839 when E. W. Rogers received a grant from the Republic of Texas for 640 acres. Ellis County was an open prairie at that time with Indians and buffalo in abundance. The Rogers family built a homestead on the property in 1847 where the town now stands. Two years later in 1849 the village of Waxahachie was chartered and named after an Indian word. The Shawnee Trail, the principal route out of Texas used by cattle drivers seeking northern markets before our War, passed through the center of present-day Waxahachie between San Antonio and the Red River. The fertile soil and the climate of the prairie were found to be ideal for raising cotton in the period after the Civil War. With the arrival of Texas and New Orleans Railroad in the late 1870s, Waxahachie had become quite a prosperous commercial center. The Texas and New Orleans Railroad (later acquired by the Southern Pacific) was soon followed by the Chicago, Rock Island, and Pacific and the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroads due to the increasing cotton production.

The present courthouse in the town square was preceded by three other structures on the same site. Designed by the famous San Antonio architect J. Reilly Gordon, the original construction contract was let to Otto P. Kroeger of San Antonio on November 3, 1894. The dedication was held July 4, 1895, and the pink granite structure has had only minor alterations to its Richardsonian Romanesque facades in the 80 years it has dominated the town square.

Around the courthouse on the four sides of the town square are located many examples of the architectural styles that were popular during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Among these styles are Romanesque Commercial, Victorian Commercial, High Victorian Italianate, Neo-Classical Revival, and Early Twentieth Century Commercial. The most outstanding of these buildings is the Masonic Building built in 1889 in the High Victorian Italianate style. Essentially unaltered from its original plan with only minor exterior deviations, the structure has been the focal point of major Masonic functions for many years. The property has recently been acquired by the Ellis County Historical Museum and Art Gallery for use as the headquarters for their annual "Gingerbread Trail" pilgrimage.

Another outstanding historical property on the town square is the Rogers Hotel building. Constructed on the site of the original 1847 Rogers Homestead in 1912, the building had been the center of Waxahachie's social life before its decline as a hotel enterprise in the 1960s. originally housed the town's first swimming pool, and the roof garden offered a panoramic view of the town. The Interurban Railway between Dallas and Waco stopped at the entrance on College Street. A ticket office occupied one of the original spaces off the first-floor lobby. However, the interurban line was removed in 1940. The building was closed in 1964 after Interstate Highway 35 opened between Dallas and Waco and claimed the declining hotel business. The City of Waxahachie has recently purchased the property from the C. A. Wilson Company and will convert it into a retirement home with funds received from a HUD grant.

The outlying blocks around the square contain other significant examples of the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century architectural styles. The second Ellis County Jail building is an excellent example of the Chateauesque-styled confinement institution.

Unfortunately, the rotating octagonal cell mechanism was used for scrap metal during World War II. However, the original exterior walls are intact. Another interesting example of early twentieth-century public architecture is the Federal Building. Built in 1914 of white sandstone to house both the U. S. Post Office and other Federal offices, the building is an excellent example of the Neo-Classical style designed by the General Services Administration. The U. S. Postal Service vacated the structure for a new building in 1967. The City of Waxahachie purchased the building in 1974 for adaptation into city offices. The lowered ceilings will be removed to reveal the original two-storied coffered ceilings.

A picturesque quality exists in the area along Waxahachie Creek. Both the Rock Island and Katy Railway depots can be seen to the East from the 1918 Elm Street viaduct. Located a few feet from the Katy depot on South Rogers Street is the first wrought iron bridge over Waxahachie Creek. Built by the Wrought Iron Bridge Company of Canton, Ohio, the structure was shipped by rail to Waxahachie in 1889. The bridge is carefully maintained and is in daily service. To the west of the viaduct on the south side of the creek is the Paymaster Oil Mill Company. Among the first cottonseed oil mills in Ellis County, the plant has seen daily service since the late 1880s.