see Robertson County Courthose Restored
Countyseat – Franklin
Built – 1882
Style – Second Empire
Architect – F. E. Ruffini
Pictures Taken – January 3, 2004
As with so many other East Texas Counties we’ve visited up to this date (March, 2012), we stopped to see the Roberston County Courthouse on a trip to visit our good friends – Mary and Mike. BTW, Mike is now doing his own courthouse photography. I believe he’s limiting the trips to only vintage courthouses.
This courthouse sits off the main highway, up on a hill, and is very visible from the highway. It is obviously a very good example of the period and architect – EXCEPT, the tower and roof were removed – giving it a much simpler look than originally designed. The architect was one of the Ruffini brothers who were credited with quite a few Texas courthouses in the latter parts of the 1800’s. Because this was on a weekend, we were not able to capture any interior photos. Note – we stopped a few years later and the courthouse had been renovated. There were some problems with actual restoration. Anyhow – the tower was added back in – see the link above.