070 of 254: Runnels County Courthouse, Ballinger, Texas. County Population: 10,501
"Although the area was still sparsely populated, the demands of the advancing frontier were such that on February 1, 1858, the Texas legislature established twenty-three new counties. One of these was Runnels County, named in honor of Hiram G. Runnels, an ex-governor of Mississippi and a Texas state legislator. The county was carved from Bexar and Travis county lands.
"In the late 1870s and early 1880s cattlemen, mostly from the southern United States, took possession of Runnels County, establishing camps along the Colorado River and its tributaries. Runnels County was organized in February 1880; "... county commissioners established Runnels City for the county seat on Elm Creek, five miles north of the Colorado River. Runnels City served as the county seat until 1888, ... "When the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway built from Brownwood in 1886, it established a new terminal town five miles south of Runnels City. The rail town was named Ballinger in honor of William Pitt Ballinger, an attorney and stockholder in the railroad. Ballinger was elected the new county seat in 1888 and was incorporated in 1892." Kathryn Pinkney, "RUNNELS COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Runnels County and photographed the courthouse on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 and on May 10, 2015.
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Runnels County Courthouse 1889
Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner traveled far afield to Ballinger, where he designed this Italianate courthouse in a large square, donated by the Santa Fe Railway. The building is similar to many Heiner designed across the state. It still stands, although it was drastically altered in 1941, when additions were added on the east and west, and the tower and roof were demolished. The current condition of the building is stable but unresolved.
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This statue of Charles Noyes is a tribute commissioned by his parents following his death. http://madeintexasphotography.com/charles-h-noyes-statue/