065 of 254:  Fisher County Courthouse, Roby, Texas.  County Population:  3,974

Fisher County, Texas

"Fisher County covers 897 square miles of grassy, rolling prairies. The elevation ranges from 1,800 to 2,400 feet. The northern third of the county is drained by the Double Mountain Fork of the Brazos River, and the southern two-thirds is drained by the Clear Fork of the Brazos.
"In the spring of 1847 Robert B. Marcy traveled along the Old Indian Trial through Fisher County on his way to El Paso; he camped for two days near the site of present-day Rotan. In the early summer of 1856 Robert E. Lee explored the county while leading a punitive expedition against the Indians.
"A few buffalo hunters passed through the area in the early 1870s, but not until 1876, when the legislature separated the county from Bexar County, did the first permanent settlers arrive. The new county, named for Samuel
Rhoads Fisher, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, however, remained sparsely populated and was not organized until 1886.
"The first post office, Newman, was established in 1881.
"The first town sites registered were Fisher, now North Roby, on November 11, 1885, and Roby on April 16, 1886. There was a bitter county-seat struggle between Roby and Fisher. Roby eventually won the election, ..."
Hooper Shelton, "FISHER COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online

I visited Fisher County and photographed the courthouse on July 27, 2010 and again on June 1, 2013.

Highway 70, south of Roby, Texas

Fertile farmlands found in Fisher County

Fisher County Courthouse 1910

Image courtesy courthousehistory.com

Image courtesy courthousehistory.com

Sans tower, image courtesy courthousehistory.com

Historic cornerstone on display

Andrew J. Bryan designed this unusual classical building.  He is also responsible for a similar design for the Rains County courthouse of 1909 in Emory, Texas.  Bryan (active 1894-1913) was architect for many county courthouses in the southeastern United States, including the two in Texas. The original tower was gone by the 1950's.  In 1965 a modern addition (the annex) was constructed on the east side of the courthouse.  Alas, the historic building was removed to make way for the current, 1973 courthouse.  All that is left of the 1910 courthouse is the building's cornerstone, tucked away in a breezeway.

Fisher County Courthouse Annex 1965

Lovett & Sellars, Architects, San Angelo, Texas

The annex consists of two low buildings, separated by an interior courtyard.
The design had absolutely nothing in common with the historic courthouse. Lovett & Sellars, Architects, also designed the current, 1973 courthouse.

The courthouse annex faces east and slightly north, on Angelo Street

Fisher County Courthouse 1973

The fenestration is minimal, to say the least

The front doors of the Fisher County courthouse face west and slightly south, on Concho Street

A courthouse "annex" was constructed in 1965, leading me to believe the 1910 courthouse was still in use at that date.  Furthermore, the location of the annex on the east side of the square allowed space for the historic courthouse to the west of the annex.   The current courthouse occupies the central ground of the square, the area where the historic courthouse likely stood.  Interestingly, the footprint of the 1973 courthouse mimics one-half of the 1910 courthouse, with diagonal arms on the northwest and southwest facades of the building.   

The front of the courthouse, with the county's war memorials

The southwest facade

The 1973 courthouse on the left. The 1965 courthouse annex in the center and the is jail seen above the annex on the right

The cornerstone of the current courthouse

The 1973 building plaque is in the front vestibule. This photograph is taken at an angle through the glass door on the west

The cornerstone is on the northeast corner of the courthouse. The annex to the left

The 1973 building has a central atrium, with skylights above. This photograph is taken from the east door, looking through to the west doors

The view from the courthouse entrance on Concho Street

The buildings on the west side of Concho Street, across from the courthouse

Another courthouse annex, on the north side of the square

The Post Office is also on the north side of the square, across from the County Jail

The County Jail (1910?), in the northeast corner of the square, north of the 1965 courthouse annex.

The Fisher County seat is one of eleven Texas county seats on US Highway 180

A metal gazebo occupies the southeast corner of the courthouse square. I had a conversation with the man who donated this structure to the county. He stopped by to talk while I was photographing the courthouse