067 of 254 Stonewall County Courthouse, Aspermont, Texas. County Population: 1,490
"Stonewall was one of fifty-four counties formed by the Fifteenth Texas Legislature in 1876 from the Young and Bexar districts. It remained attached to Young County for judicial and all other governmental purposes until March 31, 1887, when it was attached to Jones County for convenience. The county was named for Confederate general Thomas J. (Stonewall) Jackson.
"In 1888 the residents of the county petitioned the Jones County Commissioners Court to hold an election for the organization of the county. The balloting took place on December 20 of that year. On June 12, 1889, W. E. Rayner granted land for a townsite, and the new town of Rayner became the county seat. The courthouse, a large stone building, was built the following year. "As the county's population continued to expand in the 1890s, the placement of the county seat became a source of local controversy. [In 1889] A. L. Rhomberg ... platted a town, Aspermont, which was closer than Rayner to the center of the county. Beginning in 1892 the citizens of Aspermont made several attempts to make their rapidly growing town the county seat, and finally succeeded after an election held in June 1898. [In] March 1900, ... a contract to build a new courthouse in Aspermont was signed. Rayner soon ceased to exist." Joan Druesedow Griggs, "STONEWALL COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Stonewall County and photographed the courthouse on July 27, 2010 and June 1, 2013. |
Stonewall County Courthouse 1911Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
This solemn classical revival design was the work of architect Elmer G. Withers, who also designed the nearby Jones County courthouse in Anson.
The stately building was "altered," or "stripped" of its classical elements in a 1955 remodeling. It was then demolished to make way for the current courthouse. |