150 of 254 Yoakum County Courthouse, Plains, Texas. County Population: 7,879
Yoakum County, Texas
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"Yoakum County is in western Texas on the southern High Plains, along the New Mexico border. The [county] was named for Henderson King Yoakum. Yoakum County covers 800 square miles of nearly level terrain. Elevations range from 3,400 to 3,900 feet above sea level.
"In 1876 the Texas legislature established Yoakum County from lands formerly assigned to the Bexar District, but in 1890 the United States census found only four people living in the area, and as late as 1900 the county had only twenty-six residents. The economy was entirely dominated by cattle ranching at that time. "In 1905 William Jackson Luna established a store and post office at Plains, and when Yoakum County was organized in 1907, Plains became the county seat. "Substantial economic development began after 1936, when oil was discovered. Intensive production quickly ensued, and in 1938 more than 1,239,000 barrels of crude were produced in the county. The boom centered at Denver City, founded in 1939, and by 1940 the county population had jumped to 5,345. Meanwhile, agriculture declined. "In the decades after World War II irrigation helped to open thousands of new acres to fruitful cultivation." John Leffler, "YOAKUM COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Yoakum County and photographed the courthouse in Plains on Saturday, May 19, 2012.
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Yoakum County Courthouse 1927
Photo, circa 1939, courtesy TXDOT
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Directly west of the current courthouse, this modest two-story courthouse was designed by the Butler Company, Architects. It's now a museum.
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The historic courthouse/museum is in reasonably good condition. Unfortunately, it was closed when I visited
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The courthouse entrance faces south
The two courthouses are side by side on Cowboy Way in Plains
Yoakum County Courthouse 1949
Wyatt C. Hedrick, Architect. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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The Yoakum County courthouse faces south, on to US Highways 82 and 380, aka Cowboy Way
The windows on the second floor have been removed and the panels filled with brick
The office of Architect Wyatt C. Hedricks designed a total of 8 Texas courthouses, although he's best known for Houston's late Shamrock Hilton Hotel.
The view west, along Cowboy Way. The historic courthouse is in the grove of trees
The view from the courthouse steps of Pioneer Park
The Pioneer Park gazebo aligns with the courthouse entrance
A one-story addition on the east side of the courthouse
The northeast corner of the courthouse. An elevator was added to the courthouse; the shaft is visible where it projects above the second floor
The north side of the courthouse. It appears that a new jail was constructed and connected to the courtroom on the second floor
The west side of the courthouse with the jail addition on the left
The southwest corner of the 1949 courthouse
Pipe handrails gone wild across the street from the courthouse