Victoria County
This month’s selection, the Victoria County Courthouse in Texas.
In 1892 Victoria County Texas finished the construction of a stunning courthouse. Located in South Texas, the county was named after Guadalupe Victoria. Established in 1824, it later became simply Victoria. The county was established in 1836 with Victoria as the county seat. The county has a rich past as a home to cattle drives and oil booms. Today it is known as the “Crossroads” for the region. The county population is 92,000 while the county seat, Victoria, has 5500 people.
The architect of this Romanesque Revival masterpiece was J. Riely Gordon of San Antonio and later New York. The 19th century architect, renowned for elaborate courthouses, was commissioned to design the Victoria courthouse at the age of 29 and fired for not being onsite during its construction. He designed 18 courthouses in Texas, twelve of which remain today. They include Bexar (San Antonio), Comal (New Braunfels), McClennan (Waco), Lee (Giddings), Ellis (Waxahachie), Erath (Stephenville) and Fayette (LaGrange) counties. Gordon also designed the Arizona State Capitol and the Bergen County New Jersey courthouse.
The three-story Victoria County courthouse employed “a modified cruciform plan with an open central court ringed by open corridors at all three floors, covered arch porches, a central clock tower, turrets, and great textural contrast with the juxtaposition of smooth and rusticated masonry surfaces capped with a red clay tile roof,” 1892 Victoria County Courthouse, Courtesy of Victoria Preservation, Inc., Victoria County Historical Commission and the Victoria County Heritage Department. Vctx.org.
The classic Texas courthouse features stately granite and limestone. The courtrooms are restored and have preserved elegant woodwork. The courthouse maintains exhibits of historic binders and a safe that contains county records. The soaring clock tower stands out and is visible for blocks in downtown Victoria.
Texas has 254 county courthouses, by far the most of any state.139 of the courthouses are on the National Register of Historic Places. Victoria County Courthouse is on that register. The Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program (THCPP) offers funding to counties through the nationally renowned, award-winning grant program. The THCPP may award up to $10 million to eligible counties through a biannual, competitive application process. The Texas Courthouse Stewardship Program provides technical assistance and training to county staff on how to maintain newly restored courthouses.
The 1892 courthouse is visited by tourists, architects, and historians from around the world. It has a beautiful large courtroom on the second floor, the most notable features of which are the intricate wood railings, the balcony, the stained-glass windows and the thoughtful blending of modern technology such as large screens with the elegant style of the historic courtroom. It has an ADA compliant elevator in a central court that fits well in the historic building. In 1967 an adjacent courthouse was built, and one can walk indoors between the two buildings.
I thank Kenneth Sexton, the Commissioner of Precinct 4, for a tour of Victoria’s historic courthouse.
