Hood County Courthouse Historic District
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The Hood County Courthouse Historic District in Granbury,
Hood County, Texas Hood County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, the population was 61,598. Its county seat is Granbury. The county is named for John Bell Hood, a Confederate lieutenant general and th ...
encompasses 12 acres of land. The principal building in and the focal point of the district is the historic Hood County Courthouse built in 1890–1891. Other major buildings include the 1885 Hood County Jailhouse, the 1885 First National Bank Building, the 1891 building which formerly housed the '' Hood County News'', the 1893 Aston-Landers Saloon Building, the 1893 Nutt Brothers Building, and the 1886 Granbury Opea House. On June 5, 1974, the district was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
. The nomination form called it "one of the most complete nineteenth century courthouse squares in Texas." The district is also recognized as a State Antiquities Landmark and includes several
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (RTHL) is a designation awarded by the Texas Historical Commission for historically and architecturally significant properties in the U.S. state of Texas. RTHL is a legal designation and the highest honor the st ...
s.


Hood County Courthouse

The historic Hood County Courthouse is located in the block bounded by East Bridge Street on the north, North Crockett Street on the east, East Pearl Street on the south and North Houston Street on the west and has an entrance on each side except the north one. It is the fifth courthouse building to occupy this site and was built of Brazos limestone by contractors Moodie and Ellis between 1890 and 1891. It was designed in the
Second Empire Second Empire may refer to: * Second British Empire, used by some historians to describe the British Empire after 1783 * Second Bulgarian Empire (1185–1396) * Second French Empire (1852–1870) ** Second Empire architecture, an architectural styl ...
style by noted Texas courthouse architect
Wesley Clark Dodson Wesley Clark Dodson (1829–1914), most often known as W.C. Dodson, was an architect of Waco, Texas. Dodson fought for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He traveled to Galveston, Texas from Alabama and later mo ...
of
Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...
(1829–1914). The building features 3 main stories plus an attic floor under an elaborate
mansard A mansard or mansard roof (also called a French roof or curb roof) is a four-sided gambrel-style hip roof characterised by two slopes on each of its sides, with the lower slope, punctured by dormer windows, at a steeper angle than the upper. The ...
roof system. The imposing 3-story central clock tower completed after the rest of the building required reinforcement in 1969. In 2000 the exterior of the building was restored. In 2008 a grant was received to restore the interior including restoring the district courtroom to its original 2-story configuration.Hood County Historical Markers: Hood County Courthouse
/ref> Nellie Gray Robertson, first female
county attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a lo ...
in Texas, was elected to the post for Hood County in 1918, and practiced in the courthouse building.


See also

*Sons of the Republic of Texas *Daughters of the Republic of Texas *Sons of Confederate Veterans *Daughters of Confederate Veterans *Daughters of the American Revolution (D.A.R.) *Sons of the American Revolution (S.A.R.) * National Register of Historic Places listings in Hood County, Texas * Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Hood County


References


External links

{{Hood County, Texas Second Empire architecture in Texas Victorian architecture in Texas Buildings and structures in Hood County, Texas County courthouses in Texas Wesley Clark Dodson buildings Clock towers in Texas Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas National Register of Historic Places in Hood County, Texas Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas 1891 establishments in Texas Government buildings completed in 1891