Caption
According to Texas law, out of
necessity each of the state's 254 counties must "construct a convenient building for holding courts". Most of the courthouses were built between 1850 and 1950 in a variety of styles including Beau-Arts Classicism and Neoclassical, Greek, and Romanesque Revival. The ones influenced by the late Victorian period and the Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago are indeed architecturally impressive. San Antonio architect J. Riely Gordon actually designed the award-winning Texas Building for that World's Fair as well as 18 magnificent courthouses for the state, twelve of which are still standing and of those, 10 still serving their original purpose. This panorama of the Wise County courthouse in the town of Decatur was completed in 1897 at a cost of $110,000. The basic design was used again by Gordon in the courthouses found in Waxahachie, Giddings, and Sulphur Springs.