Ellis County Courthouse
Texas has a grand variety of historic county courthouses. Many of these historic county courthouses exist today, in part, because of an act passed in 1881 by the Texas legislature authorizing counties to sell bonds to finance the construction of new courthouses. This change of state law combined with the prosperity that followed the Civil War and Reconstruction eras gave birth to what is commonly called the “Golden Era” of courthouse building in Texas.
In the years between 1880 and 1900 many Texas counties built imposing new county courthouses. Typically these buildings sat at the center of the town square and were symbolic of the soundness of the town and local government. These courthouses were built in strongly expressive architectural styles. French Second Empire and Romanesque Revival architectural styles were most prevalent during this era. Both of these forms express old world grandness and permanence through form. Without a doubt, permanence was just what the average citizen longed for after the uncertain decades of the Civil War and Reconstruction. Continue reading →
