186 of 254 Wood County Courthouse, Quitman, Texas. County Population: 45,054
Wood County, Texas
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"Wood County comprises 689 square miles of the East Texas timberlands with an elevation of 250 to 600 feet above sea level.
"The Sabine River drains the southern part of Wood County and forms its southern boundary, and a tributary of the river, Lake Fork Creek, drains the central portion of the county. "Several Spanish land grants were issued for land in the county, but they are relatively unimportant since the county was not extensively settled until after the Texas Revolution. "Webster, the first real community in the area, was established by 1845. In 1850 Wood County was demarked from Van Zandt County and organized. Quitman was established to serve as the county seat. The county was named for George T. Wood, governor of Texas from 1847 to 1849. In 1870 the new Rains County took a section of western Wood County." David W. Gilbreath, "WOOD COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online "Quitman, the county seat of Wood County, is at the junction of State highways 154 and 37 and Farm roads 778 and 2966, ten miles north of Mineola in the west central part of the county. It became the county seat at its founding in 1850 and was named for John A. Quitman, a governor of Mississippi and a prominent figure in the Mexican War. David W. Gilbreath, "QUITMAN, TX," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Wood County and photographed the courthouse in Quitman on Saturday, July 13, 2013. |
Wood County Courthouse 1883
Architect: Frederick Ernst Ruffini. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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Wood County Courthouse 1925
Architect: C.H. Leinbach. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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The Wood County courthouse faces east, on axis with E. Goode Street, Texas Highway 154. It's a busy intersection
A view of the courthouse from the northeast, on Main Street
The front doors of the courthouse
The building plaque, minus one bolt
The courthouse lobby, viewed from the front doors
Looking east from the courthouse steps, along Texas Highway 154
A lot of traffic passes in front of the courthouse, including boats
The north façade of the courthouse. A 1949 addition is on the right. It was designed by Charles Freelove
The northwest corner of the 1949 addition
The southwest corner of the courthouse
The south entrance to the building. The 1949 addition is on the left
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The west entrance to the 1949 addition is on Stephens Street
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Directly west of the courthouse is this 1975 era annex, on Bermuda Street
The east façade of the annex has Wrightian "eyebrows" and what appears to be a later alteration: a metal stair
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