057 of 254: Brown County Courthouse, Brownwood, Texas. County Population: 38,106
Brown County, Texas
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"The county is named for Capt. Henry Stevenson Brown, a company commander in the
battle of Velasco, a delegate to the Convention of 1832, and one of the first Anglo-Americans in the area.
"A group of Anglo-Americans, led by Capt. Henry Stevenson Brown entered the region in 1828 to recover livestock stolen by Comanches. Land surveys were made in 1838. "The county was formed on the western frontier in 1856 from Comanche and Travis counties and organized in 1858, with Brownwood designated as the county seat; "The county developed slowly between its founding and the 1870s, primarily because conditions were not secure for settlement until the late 1870s or early 1880s, as settlers were harassed by Indians and white predators for twenty years after the county was formed. "Development of the county was accelerated in the 1890s and early 1900s when two railroads built tracks into the area, "The new railroad connections helped Brownwood to prosper, since the absence of railroad facilities in southern Eastland and Callahan counties led farmers from those areas to Brownwood to do their marketing." John Leffler, "BROWN COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Brown County and photographed the courthouse in Brownwood on July 24, 2010. |
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The Santa Fe Railroad Station, Brownwood. 1909. The last passenger train through Brownwood left the station on July 21, 1968.
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The Lehnis Railroad Museum in Brownwood.
Brown County Courthouse 1884 Courtesy courthousehistory.com
The THC website doesn't attribute the 1884 courthouse to an architect. However, given the date and the overall massing and stylistic elements, I'm inclined to believe this is yet another design by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner. Heiner also designed the 1889 Runnels County courthouse in nearby Ballinger, Texas. However, it could also be a Ruffini design: see Blanco County.
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Postcard image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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Shaded by mature trees on a summer afternoon -- the 1917 Brown County courthouse.
Brown County Courthouse 1917 Postcard image courtesy courthousehistory.com
This classical revival design from 1917, is actually a re-modeling of the 1884 building, believe it or not. Only the vault from the 1884 building survived. The courthouse cornerstone identifies the Architect: Henry T. Phelps.
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Postcard image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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The west facade include a pair of additions, one on each side of the building. The sign on the door states "Brown County Employees Only."
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The east facade.
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The Brown County Jail, 1903, attributed to Martin,Moodie & Co.; Youngblood Brothers, by the National Register listing. It's now a museum.
No visit to Brownwood would be complete without a stop at Underwood's Cafeteria.
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Dessert at Underwood's: peach cobbler and Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla!
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