224 of 254 Baylor County Courthouse, Seymour, Texas. County Population: 3,726
Baylor County, Texas
"Baylor County, in North Central Texas, is bounded on the south by Throckmorton County, on the east by Archer County, on the north by Wilbarger County, and on the west by Knox and Foard counties. The county is level to hilly. It comprises 845 square miles with an average elevation of 1,250 feet. The land is drained by the Salt Fork of the Brazos and the Big Wichita rivers.
"Baylor County was separated from Fannin County in 1858 and named for Henry W. Baylor, a surgeon in a regiment of Texas Rangers during the Mexican War. The county was attached to Jack County for administrative and judicial purposes.
"The first settlement was at Round Timber, nineteen miles southeast of the site of present Seymour. Tradition holds that the first settler was Col. C. C. Mills, who may have been at Round Timber during the Civil War and was certainly there by 1870. He was driven out by Indian raids, but returned by 1875 to join J. W. Stevens, who had arrived a year earlier.
"Baylor County was formally organized in 1879 with Seymour as county seat. That same year both Seymour and Round Timber were assigned the county's first post offices. By 1880, fifty farms and ranches encompassing 13,506 acres had been established in the county, supporting a population of 708 people; more than 13,506 cattle were counted in the county that year."
Lawrence L. Graves, "BAYLOR COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online
"Baylor County was separated from Fannin County in 1858 and named for Henry W. Baylor, a surgeon in a regiment of Texas Rangers during the Mexican War. The county was attached to Jack County for administrative and judicial purposes.
"The first settlement was at Round Timber, nineteen miles southeast of the site of present Seymour. Tradition holds that the first settler was Col. C. C. Mills, who may have been at Round Timber during the Civil War and was certainly there by 1870. He was driven out by Indian raids, but returned by 1875 to join J. W. Stevens, who had arrived a year earlier.
"Baylor County was formally organized in 1879 with Seymour as county seat. That same year both Seymour and Round Timber were assigned the county's first post offices. By 1880, fifty farms and ranches encompassing 13,506 acres had been established in the county, supporting a population of 708 people; more than 13,506 cattle were counted in the county that year."
Lawrence L. Graves, "BAYLOR COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online
I visited Baylor County and photographed the courthouse in Seymour on Saturday, May 9, 2015.
Looking north on Washington Street, at the intersection with McLain Street, on the northwest corner of the courthouse square
Baylor County Courthouse 1884
Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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Photo, circa 1939, courtesy of TXDOT
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The Italianate styled 1884 courthouse was designed by architect James Edward Flanders. At some point the original tower was replaced by a dome. (Typically, this was the result of a fire, structural failure, or wind/tornado damage.) The building was demolished to make way for the 1968 courthouse. A pair of stone blocks with the date "1884" are all that is left of the historic building.
Baylor County Courthouse 1968
View of the Baylor County courthouse from the northwest, at the intersection of Washington and McLain Streets
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Architect for the 1968 Baylor County courthouse was the Midland, Texas firm of Pierce, Norris, Pace & Associates. The firm was responsible for four Texas courthouses: Baylor, Culberson, Morris and Zavala counties. The later two courthouses were designed after Walter Norris left the firm, and it became Pierce, Pace & Associates. The style is decidedly "modern" with the emphasis on a low, single-level building with an overhanging flat roof. The tripartite arched elements are found on each side of the building and announce the entrance, which is behind the free-standing screen. The infill has since been removed from the screens, leaving the white concrete frames to stand alone.
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The west façade, circa 1982. Photo by June Rayfield Welch
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The north façade, circa 1969. Photo by Larry Nance
The north façade in 2015. The area on the right is a library
The north façade, on McLain Street, is the front of the building
This abstract, modern building is more impressive when illustrated in a bold, dramatic style with a dark, threatening sky
The cornerstone doesn't include the architect or builder
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A close-up of the front porch. A fragment of the 1884 building lays on the ground
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The north façade, looking east
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The east façade,looking south
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The east façade is on Main Street. A narrow slot slices into the building on this side, aligning with the doors on the west side
The narrow space is could use a makeover
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Me thinks a landscape architect is needed
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The east wall of the building, at the south end
The south façade on Reiman Street, is the back of the building
Another view of the south side with what I believe to be employee parking
The southwest corner of the building. I'm confident the architects didn't envision this "addition" to their composition
The west entrance, on Washington Street
Another 1884 stone from the historic courthouse
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View of Washington Street from the west porch
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The northwest corner of the courthouse, with a bike rack
"Bill" still has a presence on McLain Street, across from the courthouse
A courthouse annex in a storefront space on McLain Street
Historic buildings on McLain, east of Main Street
The Seymour Municipal Building on Washington at Pecan Street
Due to recent rains, the Brazos River was unusually high on the day of my visit to Seymour