085 of 254:  Robertson County Courthouse, Franklin, Texas.  County Population:  16,622

Robertson County, Texas

"On December 14, 1837, the First Texas Congress passed a measure establishing Robertson County from portions of Milam, Bexar, and Nacogdoches counties and naming it in honor of Sterling Robertson. ... the settlement of Franklin (usually referred to as Old Franklin today to differentiate it from the present county seat also named Franklin) ... became the county seat. Over the next nine years sixteen counties were carved from its original jurisdiction, and the county only assumed its present limits in 1846.
"In 1850 the county residents voted to move the county seat from Old Franklin to Wheelock because the town was closer to the most heavily populated areas of the area. Six years later the county seat was once again moved, this time to a new town, Owensville, near the geographical center of the county, where it remained until after the Civil War.
"On July 12, 1870, the Republican-controlled Twelfth Legislature, ... voted to relocate the county seat from Owensville to Calvert.
"In 1878 residents voted to move the county seat to Morgan, on the railroad near the geographical center of the county. When application was made for a post office, the town was renamed Franklin in honor of the original county seat."
James L. Hailey and Christopher Long, "ROBERTSON COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online

I visited Robertson County and photographed the courthouse in Franklin on October 1, 2010, August 9, 2011, and April 10, 2016.

Robertson County Courthouse 1881

Postcard image courtesy courthousehistory.com

"The present Robertson County Courthouse was designed on a classical Texas plan in Second Empire style by architect F.E. Ruffini, who employed this mode in numerous other courthouses.
"When completed, the courthouse was an outstanding example of Second Empire style. The south (main) facade is a five-part composition with corner pavilions, center pavilion, and connecting components all crowned with Mansardic roofs relieved with dormers made of galvanized iron. Rising above the center was a triangular pediment surmounted by a Mansardic roof with convex curvature, containing clocks. The cast and west fronts are comprised of three part compositions, also originally crowded with Mansardic roofs. The north facade consists of one prominent mass flanked by pavilions."
From the National Register narrative
In 1924 the mansard roofs, dormers, and clock cupola were removed and
Mission-influenced parapets and awning skirt were added by architect Hix McCanless. (Compare this to the Bastrop County courthouse which underwent a similar alteration in 1924.  I believe McCanless may have been responsible for both projects.)

Courthouse altered 1924

Postcard image courtesy courthousehistory.com

Photograph, circa1939, courtesy TXDOT

The front of the 1881/1924 courthouse on Decherd Street faces south and slightly east. It's centered on Center Street!

The front doors of the 1881/1924 courthouse.

The view from the front steps of the courthouse to Center Street.

The east facade of the 1881/1924 courthouse.

A 2011 courthouse annex connects with the historic courthouse along the east-west axis of both buildings.

The glass corridor connecting the 1881/1924 and 2011 courthouses.

The 2011 Robertson County courthouse annex on Morgan Street and aligned with Center Street. The architects were Sinclair and Wright of Tyler, Texas.

Robertson County Courthouse 1881 (Restored 2014)