103 of 254: Comanche County Courthouse, Comanche, Texas. County Population: 13,974
Comanche County, Texas
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"Comanche County covers 944 square miles of rolling land with elevations from 650 to 1,700 feet. The county is named for the Comanche Indians, whose territory once included the area.
"The area that is now Comanche County was dominated from the eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries by the Comanche Indians. "White settlement in the area began with a colony organized by Jesse Mercer and others in 1854 on lands earlier granted by Mexico to Stephen F. Austin and Samuel May Williams. "in 1856 the Texas legislature formed Comanche County from Coryell and Bosque counties; Cora was designated as the county seat. In 1859 the more centrally located town of Comanche became county seat. "By 1860 the United States census counted 709 people living in the county; "By the 1870s the town of Comanche had become the political center for some fifty counties, both organized and unorganized, to the west and northwest. The Comanche Chief, which began to be published in 1873, was for some years the only newspaper in this part of Texas." John Leffler, "COMANCHE COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online "[Comanche], a supply base for Texas ranches during its early history, was incorporated in 1873. By 1892 Comanche had 2,500 residents, the Fort Worth and Rio Grande Railway, a daily stage, and numerous businesses. J. R. Eanes and Jeanne F. Lively, "COMANCHE, TX," Handbook of Texas Online |
I visited Comanche County and photographed the courthouse in Comanche on June 22, 2011 and again on June 2, 2013. Actually, I pass by the Comanche County courthouse each time I visit my family in Abilene.
The "Old Cora" Comanche County Courthouse, circa 1856, now occupies a place of honor on the courthouse square
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Comanche County Courthouse 1890
Larmour & Watson, Architects. A Renaissance Revival style, similar to the Milam County courthouse. Image courtesy courthoushistory.com
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Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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Comanche County Courthouse 1939
Wyatt C. Hedrick, Architect. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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Photograph, circa 1939. Courtesy TXDOT
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The building cornerstone is on the northeast corner
The south façade, on W. Central Avenue, is the front of the courthouse
The front doors of the Comanche County courthouse
The courthouse name atop the south facade
Busy Texas Highway 36 (W. Central Avenue) is on the south side of the courthouse square
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The central hall of the courthouse. What remains of the 1890 courthouse's Statue of Justice is on display
The east façade of the courthouse is on N. Austin Street
The north façade on N. Grand Avenue
The west façade on N. Houston Street
The southwest corner of the courthouse square. The log building is the "Old Cora" Comanche County courthouse
Buildings on the west side of the courthouse square
The north side of the courthouse square
The Comanche City Hall is on the south side of the courthouse square
Approaching Comanche from the southeast on Highway 36
South of Comanche, on Texas Highway 36. Moo...