241 of 254 Gray County Courthouse, Pampa, Texas. County Population: 22,535
Gray County, Texas
"Gray County occupies 934 square miles of level prairie and rolling river breaks. The elevation ranges from 2,500 to 3,300 feet above sea level, the average annual rainfall is 20.14 inches. Gray County is basically made up of two distinct parts: the flat plains in the west and north, and the Red River breaks in the east, center, and southeast. Gray County is at the head of the North Fork of the Red River; numerous intermittent and flowing creeks can be found in the eastern part of the county.
"Gray County, formed in 1876 out of the Bexar District, was named for Peter W. Gray, a lawyer and politician of the Republic of Texas and Civil War eras. By the turn of the century the county's stable stock-farming population felt a growing need for self-government. As a result, in 1902 the county was organized with Lefors as the county seat. Lefors, a tiny ranching town, remained the county seat until 1928, when Pampa's oil-induced growth led to its becoming the county seat. [It didn't hurt that Pampa was on the Santa Fe Railway's transcontinental line to Amarillo.]
"Farming and ranching dominated the county's economy for a short time, and then major petroleum discoveries greatly altered the county. Oil and gas exploration began in the county during the early 1920s. Between 1925 and 1928 increasing amounts of oil came out of the county's three oilfields (the Lefors, Bowers, and south Pampa fields). A by-product of the local oil economy is a substantial petrochemical industry that produces carbon black and other synthetic materials."
Handbook of Texas Online, Donald R. Abbe, "Gray County"
"Gray County, formed in 1876 out of the Bexar District, was named for Peter W. Gray, a lawyer and politician of the Republic of Texas and Civil War eras. By the turn of the century the county's stable stock-farming population felt a growing need for self-government. As a result, in 1902 the county was organized with Lefors as the county seat. Lefors, a tiny ranching town, remained the county seat until 1928, when Pampa's oil-induced growth led to its becoming the county seat. [It didn't hurt that Pampa was on the Santa Fe Railway's transcontinental line to Amarillo.]
"Farming and ranching dominated the county's economy for a short time, and then major petroleum discoveries greatly altered the county. Oil and gas exploration began in the county during the early 1920s. Between 1925 and 1928 increasing amounts of oil came out of the county's three oilfields (the Lefors, Bowers, and south Pampa fields). A by-product of the local oil economy is a substantial petrochemical industry that produces carbon black and other synthetic materials."
Handbook of Texas Online, Donald R. Abbe, "Gray County"
I visited Gray County and photographed the courthouse in Pampa on May 6, 2016.
On the road to Miami, US 60 in north-central Gray County
Pampa is bisected by the Santa Fe Railway (now BNSF) tracks. The downtown streets are aligned with the railroad tracks
Gray County Courthouse 1929
Photograph courtesy of TXDOT
The courthouse is on a narrow city block that aligns with the city hall and fire station
Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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The south facade of the courthouse faces the Pampa City Hall across Kingsmill Avenue
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The south doors
The central stair on the west side of the building
The southwest corner of the building. Doors occur on the north-south axis only
The southeast corner of the building. The courthouse was fully restored in 2003
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There's a small plaza on the south side of the courthouse
The northwest corner of the building. A parking lot occupies the north end of this block
The Gray County Jail is on the northeast side of the courthouse
The north facade
The east facade. The district courtroom is behind the large windows in the center
Sorry, I couldn't resist this image!
The courthouse in the distance, on the right is the west side of the Pampa City Hall
The northwest corner of the Pampa City Hall, designed by the architect of the courthouse
Downtown Pampa has very wide streets and very tiny traffic signals!
A Pampa original