James Riely Gordon, Architect
Born in Winchester VA 1863, Died in Pelham NY 1937
"James Riely Gordon's success as an architect is a bit of any anomaly. His background is devoid of the benefits enjoyed by the prominent designers of his day: he had no formal education in his art, he had no association with a well-known architect, and he established himself far away from the urban areas where the profession garnered the most critical attention. He compensated for these shortfalls with talent, ambition, hard work, and a dogged pursuit of opportunities. Ultimately, he was rewarded with a very successful architectural career in which he specialized in the design of public buildings, primarily county courthouses." James Riely Gordon, His Courthouses and Other Public Architecture, Chris Meister, Texas Tech University Press, 2011, p.3
"James Riely Gordon was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1863. At age 11 he moved with his family to San Antonio in 1874. He worked for the Civil Engineering Corps of the International and Great Northern Railway before apprenticing in the architectural office of W.K. Dobson of San Antonio. He
gained invaluable experience in the design of public buildings while supervising construction of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in San Antonio
(1888-1889). By the mid-1880s he had opened his own office. For a brief period, he established a partnership with D.E. Laub (Gordon and Laub Architects) in San Antonio from 1890 to 1891. By the late 1890s Gordon established the J. Riely Gordon Company in Dallas and shortly thereafter moved to New York City where he entered into a brief practice with Alfred Zucker in 1902. He was later associated briefly with Evarts Tracy and Egerton Swartwout in the firm of Gordon Tracy and Swartwout Architects (c1905). He continued to successfully design county courthouses across the eastern seaboard."
Biographical Sketch of James Riely Gordon
James Riely Gordon designed 18 Texas courthouses. 6 of them have been demolished and 12 remain.
"James Riely Gordon was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1863. At age 11 he moved with his family to San Antonio in 1874. He worked for the Civil Engineering Corps of the International and Great Northern Railway before apprenticing in the architectural office of W.K. Dobson of San Antonio. He
gained invaluable experience in the design of public buildings while supervising construction of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in San Antonio
(1888-1889). By the mid-1880s he had opened his own office. For a brief period, he established a partnership with D.E. Laub (Gordon and Laub Architects) in San Antonio from 1890 to 1891. By the late 1890s Gordon established the J. Riely Gordon Company in Dallas and shortly thereafter moved to New York City where he entered into a brief practice with Alfred Zucker in 1902. He was later associated briefly with Evarts Tracy and Egerton Swartwout in the firm of Gordon Tracy and Swartwout Architects (c1905). He continued to successfully design county courthouses across the eastern seaboard."
Biographical Sketch of James Riely Gordon
James Riely Gordon designed 18 Texas courthouses. 6 of them have been demolished and 12 remain.
Angelina County Courthouse
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Lufkin, Texas 1902 (demolished)
Aransas County Courthouse
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Rockport, Texas 1889 (demolished)
Bexar County Courthouse
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San Antonio, Texas 1892
Brazoria County Courthouse
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Brazoria, Texas 1894 (demolished)
Callahan County Courthouse
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Baird, Texas 1901 (demolished)
Comal County Courthouse
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New Braunfels, Texas 1898
Ellis County Courthouse
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Waxahachie, Texas 1897
Erath County Courthouse
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Stephenville, Texas 1892
Fayette County Courthouse
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La Grange, Texas 1891
Gonzales County Courthouse
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Gonzales, Texas 1894
Harrison County Courthouse
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Marshall, Texas 1901
Hopkins County Courthouse
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Sulphur Springs, Texas
Lee County Courthouse
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Giddings, Texas 1898
McLennan County Courthouse
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Waco, Texas 1902
San Patricio County Courthouse
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Sinton, Texas 1894 (demolished)
Van Zandt County Courthouse
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Canton, Texas 1894 (demolished)
Victoria County Courthouse
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Victoria, Texas 1892
Wise County Courthouse
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Decatur, Texas 1895