254 Texas Courthouses
  • Home
  • Chronological Order (of my visits)
  • County List (alphabetical)
  • County Seat List (alphabetical)
  • Texas Courthouse Blog
  • James Riely Gordon, Architect
  • Eugene T. Heiner, Architect
  • Henry T. Phelps, Architect
  • Alfred Giles, Architect
  • Corneil G. Curtis, Architect
  • Wesley Clark Dodson, Architect
  • Lang & Witchell Architects
  • Voelcker & Dixon, Architects
  • Wyatt C. Hedrick, Architect
  • David S. Castle, Architect
  • Page Brothers, Architects
  • James Edward Flanders, Architect
  • Pierce, Norris, Pace & Associates, Architects & Engineers

151 of 254  Terry County Courthouse, Brownfield, Texas.  County Population:  12,651

Picture
Terry County, Texas
"Terry County was demarked from Bexar County in 1876 and named for Col. Benjamin Franklin Terry, who commanded the Eighth Texas Cavalry (Terry's Texas Rangers) in the Civil War. It was attached to Young County until 1881, when Throckmorton County took over its judicial affairs. In 1883 administration was vested in Howard County, and in 1889 it was transferred to Martin County.
"Terry County was organized in 1904, with Brownfield as its seat of government."
William R. Hunt and John Leffler, "TERRY COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online 
"In 1903 town promoters W. G. Hardin and A. F. Small arrived in Terry County planning to turn Small's few hundred dollars into thousands. The two men bought the county's center lot from A. M. (Dick) Brownfield and began to plat the site, giving every voter in the county a lot in order to enhance the town's chances of becoming the county seat; they named the town after a prominent ranching family [the Brownfield's].
"On June 28, 1904, Brownfield was voted county seat by a slim margin over the larger and older town of Gomez."
Leoti A. Bennett, "BROWNFIELD, TX," Handbook of Texas Online 
I visited Terry County and photographed the courthouse in Brownfield on Saturday, May 19, 2012.  I returned on Thursday, May 8, 2014 to photograph the restored courthouse.
Picture

Terry County Courthouse 1925

Picture
Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
Picture
Photo, circa 1939, courtesy TXDOT
Architects for the 1925 courthouse were Peters & Haynes.  A 1951 addition on the east side, designed by Carl H. Stautz, doubled the size of the building.
Picture
The courthouse was undergoing restoration work on May 19, 2012, the day I first visited
Picture
This facade faces north, onto W. Main Street. A 1951 addition is visible on the left
Picture
The south facade faces W. Broadway Street
Picture
This is the west facade, on S. 6th Street
Picture
The southwest corner of the courthouse. The 1951 addition is on the right
Picture
The south entrance
Picture
W. Main Street on the north side of the courthouse square. Compare the building on the left to a very similar façade on the square in Levelland (#200)
Picture
Picture
2014: a nice muscle car on the square in Brownfield
Picture
My second visit on May 8, 2014: the restoration is complete. View of the northwest corner of the courthouse
Picture
The west facade
Picture
The view from the southwest
Picture
Brick screens hide the mechanical equipment
Picture
The south façade, the 1951 addition is on the right
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
The north facade
Picture
Picture
I don't know what was done to the building in 1983.  The 2013 restoration was a complete makeover, including a beautiful rebuilding of the interiors.
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
US Highway 82/380 west of Brownfield
Proudly powered by Weebly