This is the fourth structure to serve as the Milam County Courthouse. The local Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone for the building on July 4, 1891. Designed by architect A. O. Watson of Austin, the courthouse at one time featured a Second Empire style roof and a cupola with a four-sided clock. The clock was removed and the roof altered in a 1938 renovation project by the Federal Works Progress Administration. As the center of county government for over a century, the courthouse stands as a significant part of Milam County history.
New Text as of 2008/2009: Created in 1835, Milam County's original boundaries extended north and west to include parts of 34 current Texas counties. Government offices were at Nashville-on-the-Brazos and Caldwell before Cameron became county seat in 1846. Two frame buildings and a two-story brick structure served as courthouses in Cameron before the present building was completed. Austin architects Jacob Larmour and Arthur O. Watson designed this Renaissance Revival style courthouse, with the cornerstone laid by the local Masonic lodge on July 4, 1891. The first floor included the county courtroom and offices for county officials, while a district courtroom occupied the second and third stories. Identical north and south facades are five-part compositions, while the east and west are three-bay designs. Each of the four fronts has a projecting center pavilion enhanced by a portico and triangular pediment. A mansard roof and central clock tower top an exterior of arched windows, cut stone pilasters and quarry-faced ashlar limestone with fine detailing. County commissioners accepted the building as complete in April 1892, although furnishings and the clock tower were finished in succeeding months. In the late 1930s, a federal renovation project by the Works Progress Administration removed the original roof, cupola, clock and statue, and made interior changes. The State of Texas also dedicated a statue on the grounds to commemorate the Centennial of Texas Idependence and county namesake Ben Milam. Restoration completed in 2002 reopened the full height of the district courtroom and replaced features that had been removed, including a stairway in the center hall and the clock tower and Goddess of Justice statue. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2008
This page last updated: 7/15/2008 |
Milam County Courthouse Historical Marker Location Map, Texas
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Related Themes: Texas Freemasons, Masonic Lodges, Freemasonry
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