Today, we’re going to stay closer to the trailer.  Scheduled are 2 courthouses – Calhoun County and Victoria County.  As I mentioned on an earlier post – lots of farming and oil/gas in this area – and the drive from Victoria to Port Lavaca highlights both of those.

Jackson County Courthouse, Texas

Port Lavaca wasn’t that nice of a town.  The downtown area is a bit seedy, though there are some historical buildings there.  No great old neighborhoods, etc. – at least from what we saw.  It is, however, a bustling town.  Oil & gas causes a lot of activity – and it is an active shrimping and deep sea fishing port.  The high school here is the Calhoun County High School – nicknamed the Sandcrabs.  They once had a tremendous loosing streak in football, but that was quite awhile ago, and they’ve been winning quite a few in more recent times.

The courthouse is very modern.  We did speak to someone who worked in the courthouse, and he told us this building was built to replace an earlier courthouse, whose foundation was sinking so much that many doors failed to open/close and at times, windows had to be used to get in and out.  He also told us, though this is a modern building – it was recently remodeled due to mold.  In doing the remodeling, they gave the interior a good feel.  It has barrel ceilings and a couple of very old telephone booths.  Outside – not much really – but it does have a grand glass entrance with some colored-glass highlights.

Victoria County Courthouse, Texas

The best of the trip may well be the last courthouse we visited – Victoria County.  Romanesque in style, it had tons and tons of architectural highlights.  And the district court room was totally restored along with the rest of this beauty.  Victoria itself, is worth a visit.  They have a historical trail that highlights the breath of this city’s history.  The jail behind the courthouse was built in the 1940’s and had art deco highlights.

While taking pictures, I began talking to couple of ladies sitting outside the courthouse.  I remember one was from Uvalde – and had the twang to back it up.  Of course, she quickly recognized that my own accent identified me as being a transplant.  A gentleman joined us and we had a general discussion about courthouses.  His complaint about the Victoria County Courthouse was the fact that plant growth around its base wasn’t kept trimmed – hiding a lot of the base from view.  He was introduced as Judge Gilliam – Victoria County District Judge, who recommended a stop in the courtroom – with its’ stained glass windows.   We did just that, and it was worth the visit.  We also challenged by the door guards to find the frown on the hall walls.  The walls have a decorative style that uses something akin to a smile – but one of these was reversed to create a frown.  We found it – but not without a hint that it was on the second floor.

We’ve decided to stay one more day – just to relax and maybe take one of the historical driving tours here in Victoria.