200 of 254  Hockley County Courthouse, Levelland, Texas.  County Population:  22,935

Hockley County, Texas

"Hockley County is in northwestern Texas, south of the Panhandle and on the Llano Estacado, bordered on the east by Lubbock County, on the south by Terry County, on the west by Cochran County, and on the north by Lamb County. The county, named for George W. Hockley, comprises 908 square miles of generally flat land that drains to numerous playas, the Yellow House River, and Yellow House Lake. Elevations range from 3,300 to 3,650 feet above sea level.
"In 1876 the Texas legislature formed Hockley County from lands formerly assigned to Bexar and Young counties. Because settlers were slow to move into the area, however, the county was assigned to Lubbock County for administrative purposes until 1920.
"Until the early twentieth century, the area was dominated by a few large cattle operations. There were no census returns for Hockley County until 1900, when forty-four people were found living in the area.
"As late as 1920, only 137 people lived in the county, and only 3,235 acres was classified as improved. Nevertheless, by this time county residents wanted their own county government. The county was organized in 1921; Hockley City won over Ropesville in the county-seat contest.  Hockley City, where the Littlefield Lands Company sold 464 farm tracts between 1912 and 1920, was renamed Levelland in 1922. Thousands of settlers moved into the county to establish new farms during this period."

John Leffler, "HOCKLEY COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online

I visited Hockley County and photographed the courthouse in Levelland on Thursday, May 8, 2014, a very windy day on the south plains.

Entering Hockley County from the south, on US Highway 385

The southwest corner of the courthouse is visible in this view from the south, off of Ave H

Hockley County Courthouse 1928

Image courtesy courthousehistory.com

Image courtesy courthousehistory.com

The courthouse occupies the center of a city block in the middle of Levelland. This sign in on the northwest corner of the square

The north side of the square is nicely shaded

The front of the courthouse faces north

A gazebo occupies the northeast corner of the square

Like other courthouse squares in this region of Texas, the Hockley County courthouse square is an oasis of shade and grass in an otherwise harsh landscape

The courthouse faces Houston Street on the north side of the square

The neo-classical façade

The northeast corner of the building

The east façade of the courthouse faces Ave G

The west façade faces Ave H. The 1977 era courthouse annex is on the right

An historic photograph inside the courthouse

The cornerstone reads: "The Butler Co., Architects, Lubbock Texas and Okla City Okla." Mavis Kelsey identifies the architect as Preston Lee Walker. Perhaps Walker worked for the Butler Co. The Butler Co. also designed additions to the Haskell County courthouse in 1931

1977: the decade is all you need to know about the "courthouse [interior] renovation." Fortunately, the exterior is in excellent (original) condition. This firm also designed the annex on the south side of the historic courthouse in 1977

Another reason to drink bottled water

The south façade of the 1928 courthouse and the 1977 era annex

The 1977 courthouse annex faces Austin Street, south of the historic courthouse. Okay, it's not a bad look for the 1970's

On the southwest corner of the courthouse square is the county library

Low wings of the library building at the corner of Austin and Ave H are covered in mosaic murals

At the southeast corner of the courthouse square is the former county jail

"Are you talking to the prisoners?" he asked me. "Not unless you're one." I replied

Opposite the courthouse on Houston Street. Too bad I wasn't hungry

Next to the Pie Shoppe: I could've shopped if only I had time

The new Hockley County Mallet Event Center and Arena, south of town on US 385

The Event Center and Arena opened in 2012

I told you it was a windy day. This was my view as I drove west from Levelland, towards Morton, seat of Cochran County