The Hopkins County Courthouse is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

located in

Sulphur Springs, Texas Sulphur Springs is a city in and the county seat of Hopkins County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, its population was 15,941. Sulphur Springs is located in Northeast Texas. History Sulphur Springs

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

of Hopkins County. It was designed by San Antonio">Hopkins County, Texas">Hopkins County. It was designed by San Antonio-based architect

James Riely Gordon James Riely Gordon (August 2, 1863 – March 16, 1937) was an architect who practiced in San Antonio until 1902 and then in New York City, where he gained national recognition. He is best known for his landmark county courthouses, in particular t ...

and constructed in 1894 and 1895. The courthouse was built in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended t ...

architectural style with red

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

and

pink granite Granite ( ) is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

, and its design includes a number of unusual features, such as a double-helix staircase, a clockless tower, and entrances that are located on its northwest and southwest corners, instead of on its sides. The building was restored in 2001 and 2002 at a cost of $3.66 million to the State of Texas and $1.3 million to Hopkins County, and it continues to serve as an operating courthouse that is open to the public on a daily basis. The courthouse has also received numerous awards and accolades, including its designation as a

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 ...

in 1975 and its addition to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1977.

Background

After Hopkins County was created by the

Texas Legislature The Texas State Legislature is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a p ...

in 1846, Tarrant was initially designated as the county seat, and a courthouse was constructed there in 1853. In 1868, during the

Reconstruction Era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, the

United States military The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...

moved the county seat to Sulphur Springs, which was at the time known as Bright Star. In 1882, Hopkins County constructed its first brick courthouse there; in 1894, this building burned along with the jail and a number of Sulphur Springs' commercial buildings, which necessitated the creation of a replacement courthouse.

Design and construction

The courthouse, which was designed by

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

-based architect

, was constructed in 1894 and 1895. It was one of approximately 18 Texas county courthouses designed by Gordon, whose architectural designs could also be found in Texas cities such as Decatur, La Grange,

New Braunfels New Braunfels ( ) is a city in Comal and Guadalupe counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Comal County. The city covers and had a population of 90,403 as of the 2020 Census. A suburb just north of San Antonio, and part ...

, San Antonio, Stephenville,

Waco Waco ( ) is a city in and 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 U.S. census estimated 2024 population of 146,608, making i ...

Waxahachie Waxahachie ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Ellis County, Texas, United States. Its population was 41,140 in 2020. The city was founded in 1850, and incorporated in 1871. Much of the employment is provided by a number of industries and by ...

, and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. The Hopkins County Courthouse was built in the

architectural style with red

and

. It also features an unusual double-helix staircase with cast-iron stairs as well as marble

wainscoting Panelling (or paneling in the United States) is a millwork wall covering constructed from rigid or semi-rigid components. These are traditionally interlocking wood, but could be plastic or other materials. Panelling was developed in antiquity t ...

masonry Masonry is the craft of building a structure with brick, stone, or similar material, including mortar plastering which are often laid in, bound, and pasted together by mortar (masonry), mortar. The term ''masonry'' can also refer to the buildin ...

interiors,

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

woodwork, and stone and tile flooring. The building was constructed with a clockless tower because, as one of the town's early leaders declared, " you get up when the sun rises and go to bed when it sets, you don't need a clock." Due to its alignment on Courthouse Square, the building's entrances are somewhat unusually located on its northwest and southwest corners, instead of on its sides. Its entrances feature Roman

arch An arch is a curved vertical structure spanning an open space underneath it. Arches may support the load above them, or they may perform a purely decorative role. As a decorative element, the arch dates back to the 4th millennium BC, but stru ...

es with second-story

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cu ...

s and third-story open

porch A porch (; , ) is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance to a building. A porch is placed in front of the façade of a building it commands, and forms a low front. Alternatively, it may be a vestibule (architecture), vestibule (a s ...

es above them. Dallas-based Sonnerfield & Ammins received the contract to build the courthouse at a price of $52,410, although the cost ultimately climbed to $75,000, due largely to the added expense of installing steel bracing rods for enhancing the safety of the building.

Restoration

The Hopkins County Courthouse was restored in 2001 and 2002. Prior to its full restoration, the building had only been repaired three times: in 1945, 1971, and 1979–80, the latter of which restored the appearance of the third-floor jury room. By the turn of the 21st century, years of wear and exposure to the elements had caused deterioration of the building's sandstone and windows as well as a persistent problem with groundwater infiltration. Other major problems afflicting the building included rotting window casings, a roof turret in danger of collapse, overloaded wiring, lack of an

elevator An elevator (American English) or lift (Commonwealth English) is a machine that vertically transports people or freight between levels. They are typically powered by electric motors that drive traction cables and counterweight systems suc ...

, and the general sense that the entire courthouse was a

fire hazard Fire safety is the set of practices intended to reduce destruction caused by fire. Fire safety measures include those that are intended to prevent the ignition of an uncontrolled fire and those that are used to limit the spread and impact of a ...

. Completed in December 2002, the restoration refurbished both the interior and the exterior of the building, upgraded its systems, and brought it into compliance with the

Americans with Disabilities Act The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

(ADA). The restoration was handled by the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

-based construction firm Harrison, Walker & Harper, while other companies such as Waco-based Johnson Roofing participated in the project as well. In total, the State of Texas spent $3.66 million on the restoration while Hopkins County contributed $1.3 million; the remainder of the funding was raised by private donors, $100,000 of which was contributed by Mary Bonham. After nearly two years of restoration, the courthouse was publicly rededicated on December 7, 2002.

Operation

The Hopkins County Courthouse is an operating courthouse that is open to the public on a daily basis. , it is still home to the 8th and 62nd Judicial Districts; it contains courtrooms, jury rooms, and the offices of the auditor, commissioners, county judge, district clerk, and treasurer. In 2005 the building was also available for use as a

concert A concert, often known informally as a gig or show, is a live performance of music in front of an audience. The performance may be carried by a single musician, in which case it is sometimes called a recital, or by a musical ensemble such as an ...

and

wedding A wedding is a ceremony in which two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnicity, ethnicities, Race (human categorization), races, religions, Religious denomination, denominations, Cou ...

venue.

Awards and accolades

The Hopkins County Courthouse was named a

in 1975, and it was added to the

in 1977. It also received Round One of a Texas Historical Commission Courthouse Preservation Grant in 2000, shortly before its restoration began; this grant program was an initiative of then-

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, who personally toured the Hopkins County Courthouse in October 1998 while the program was still a proposal. The courthouse also won the

East Texas Historical Association East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that eas ...

's Lucille Terry Historical Preservation Award in 2005. In December 2013, ''County Line Magazine'' awarded the building the honor of "Best County Courthouse" in its annual "Best of the Upper East Side of Texas" survey, the third time it had received this designation.

References

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Hopkins County Courthouse (Texas), Hopkins County Courthouse County courthouses in Texas Buildings and structures in Hopkins County, Texas Government buildings completed in 1895 Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks Sandstone buildings in the United States Romanesque Revival architecture in Texas James Riely Gordon buildings National Register of Historic Places in Hopkins County, Texas Sulphur Springs, Texas