I finally got around to reducing the number, enhancing and uploading the photos we took on our recent courthouse journeys.  The counties include include: Bee, Harris, Chambers, Liberty, Brazoria, Galveston, and Ft. Bend.  Drop in on any of these new pages if those counties interest you or you’re just curious.

Bee County was actually a revisit.  The first time we visited, the courthouse was being restored and was looked dilapidated, actually.  This visit was also made specially by an officer with one of the Precincts – Bill Lazenby.  He took us into the dome and outside to a wonderful view of Beeville.

In visiting Galveston, we missed the fact that Galveston has a new courthouse.  The one we visited wasn’t anything historical – I guess they just needed bigger digs.  Anyhow, I went ahead and downloaded a couple of photos from the internet of the new courthouse.  The one we photographed is still the county courthouse in that the County Judges (administrative), still meet here.

Liberty and Chambers Courthouses were very similar.  They are both moderne and built around the same time period.

Ft. Bend Courthouse was a bit a disappointment in that it has been closed – for what we’re assuming to be renovations.  We tried asking what the future held for this historical courthouse, but really did not get a good answer.  So, for now, we’re assuming the old courthouse is being renovated in order to continue using it for the County Judges (administrative) and used that as our courthouse feature.  One of the better finds here was the historical Ft. Bend County jail – which is great late 19th century example of Victorian exuberance.  The building’s in great shape, and now serves as the city of Richmond Police Headquarters!

Harris County was a different matter.  The wonderful historical Harris County Courthouse has been beautifully restored and is a ‘do-no-miss’ gem, especially the interior.  However, I decided to post it under the Historical Harris County Courthouse designation, as it now serves as the home for the State of Texas Court of Appeals.  So I decided to post the more modern structures that now make up Harris County’s courthouses.  The one that probably best fits the definition is the one from the 1950’s.  The modern buildings are mostly built around a nice looking green space/plaza which helps set this group of buildings apart.

The last county – Brazoria, was fairly interesting.  The current courthouse is made up of two conjoined buildings, one of moderne style from the 30’s and the other a much more modern structure.  The two buildings are joined together by a large glass space which serves as a plaza type entrance.  Behind these 2 buildings, and on the same block, sits the historical Brazoria County Courthouse.  It now serves as a county museum.  Though much changed through many ‘updates’, the building still holds a charm as the turn of the century jewel it once was.  We were able to meet the curators in the museum and got some prints from their files which we’ve also posted.

So a lot to see.  A lot to enjoy.  Spend a little time with these new posted counties.  I still have around 20 – 30 counties photographed, but not posted, so those will be coming over time.  We also will be find some trips to take to increase the numbers of counties we’re able to share with you.