230 of 254 Potter County Courthouse, Amarillo, Texas. County Population: 121,073
Potter County, Texas
"Potter County, on the High Plains of the Panhandle, is bordered on the north by Moore County, on the east by Carson County, on the south by Randall County, and on the west by Oldham County. Amarillo, the county seat, is on the county's southern border, about 110 miles due north of Lubbock.
"The county was named for Robert Potter [legislator, cabinet member, and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence]. It comprises 902 square miles of level to rolling terrain, with elevations ranging from 3,000 to 3,800 feet above sea level. In the 1870s buffalo hunting decimated the herds that once roamed the area and forced the Indians, who were dependent upon the buffalo, to leave.
"In 1876 the Texas legislature formed Potter County from the Bexar District, and ranchers soon found their way into the area. Settlement of Potter County increased dramatically with the construction of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway across the Panhandle in 1887. When Oldham County officials ordered an election held on August 30 for the purpose of organizing Potter County, several townsites vied to be county seat. [The town site of Oneida won. It was renamed Amarillo soon after.]
"The railroad was completed into the town in October 1887, soon after the elections, and a post office was established there the next month. Partly because of flood dangers, most of the town was moved to a new, higher site by 1890."
H. Allen Anderson and John Leffler, "POTTER COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online
"The county was named for Robert Potter [legislator, cabinet member, and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence]. It comprises 902 square miles of level to rolling terrain, with elevations ranging from 3,000 to 3,800 feet above sea level. In the 1870s buffalo hunting decimated the herds that once roamed the area and forced the Indians, who were dependent upon the buffalo, to leave.
"In 1876 the Texas legislature formed Potter County from the Bexar District, and ranchers soon found their way into the area. Settlement of Potter County increased dramatically with the construction of the Fort Worth and Denver City Railway across the Panhandle in 1887. When Oldham County officials ordered an election held on August 30 for the purpose of organizing Potter County, several townsites vied to be county seat. [The town site of Oneida won. It was renamed Amarillo soon after.]
"The railroad was completed into the town in October 1887, soon after the elections, and a post office was established there the next month. Partly because of flood dangers, most of the town was moved to a new, higher site by 1890."
H. Allen Anderson and John Leffler, "POTTER COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online
I visited Potter County and photographed the courthouse in Amarillo on Tuesday, July 14, 2015 and again, from May 5 through May 11, 2016.
Amarillo, the county seat and only town of any size in Potter County is on the southern edge of the county.
The Amarillo skyline seen from the northwest on FM 1061
Amarillo has a population of about 190,000. Potter County has a population of about 120,000. Doing the math, about 70,000 of Amarillo's population lives in Randall County. The county line (in green) is visible in this view, just south of IH-40, which runs east-west across Amarillo
Potter County Courthouse 1904
Architect J.E. Flanders designed this classical temple. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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At some point, the dome was removed and another floor added to the courthouse. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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The Potter County courthouse is located on the east side of the courthouse square. I believe this location was chosen because the current courthouse was built along side the the 1904 courthouse, which was in the center of the square. Once the current courthouse was completed, the previous courthouse was demolished. The 1985 county courts building is to the right of the courthouse.
Potter County Courthouse 1931
Designed by architects Townes, Lightfoot & Funk. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
The southwest corner of the courthouse
The north and east facades of the courthouse
The south and east facades of the courthouse
The west facade, facing the courthouse square
The front doors of the courthouse are on the west. Although, these doors are no longer open to the public
The west facade
The front doors of the courthouse on the west facade
View from the west facade of the courthouse
The south facade
The north doors of the courthouse
The upper portion of the east porch
The east porch is directly on Fillmore
The east facade
Potter County Courts Building 1985
The courts building is directly east of the courthouse
The work of Hucker & Parge with Ward-Brown Associates
Time and weather has not been kind to the courts building, which was clad with thin masonry elements
Compare this 1985 entrance design to the 1931 entrance across the street
The Potter County courthouse is on the historic Route 66
The historic Santa Fe (Railroad) building in downtown Amarillo dates from 1930. Since 2000 it has been occupied by Potter County offices. So, two of my favorite subjects, Texas counties and railroads, are joined in one building!
Amarillo is a very busy railroad town. Two major lines of the BNSF cross here, including the "transcon" line that connects Los Angeles and Chicago.
