My first visit to Anahuac, seat of Chambers County, was 2 years ago in December.  I was not satisfied with the photos I took during that visit, so I returned to the county today for a second time.  It was a beautiful fall day in southeast Texas.  Sunny and temperatures in the low 70's.  Only the mosquitoes kept it from perfection!
Chambers County borders Harris County on the east.  It's about 40 miles on I-10 from my home.  The county forms the eastern edge of Galveston and Trinity bays.  On the south it fronts the Gulf of Mexico.  The county boasts lots of water frontage.  Our first stop was the Wallisville Lake Project, named for the town that used to be located at the terminus of the Trinity River, where it flows into Trinity Bay.

The Army Corps of Engineers created this series of canals, dams, and a lock to prevent salt water from Trinity Bay from entering the lower Trinity River and the lakes in this area, such as Lake Anahuac.  This only happens when the area is suffering from a drought (like now) and water in the river is low.  Wallisville was the original county seat, but lost an election and in 1908 the seat moved to nearby Anahuac.  Then, in 1915, a hurricane wiped out Wallisville.

The current courthouse is a very nice WPA era building, dating from 1936.  Other than a couple of significant 19th century homes, it's the only building of any consequence in this small town of about 2,200 people.  I've now decided when I should classify a county seat a "small" town:  when it doesn't boast a Edward Jones investment office!  However, Anahuac does have one of the ubiquitous Dollar General stores, so it's not in the "crossroad" category!
We completed our delightful road trip with a visit to the recently completed Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters and Visitors Center.  The new building is a replacement for the previous one that was destroyed by Hurricane Ike.  Chambers County took a direct hit from that storm in 2008, by the way.  Here's a view from the center's boardwalk that leads to the edge of Lake Anahuac.

I'm often asked to name my favorite courthouse.  The follow up question is usually, "So, what's the ugliest courthouse you've seen?"  At the risk of offending several counties, here's my current answer to that question.  The bottom 3 are:
#3:  Nolan County, Sweetwater. 

I wish I could tell you these men are here to demolish the courthouse, but, alas, they were just repairing sidewalks.  As you can see for yourself, this building is a sleek, shiny, bunker of a courthouse.  What you can't see in this photograph is the collection of very good historic buildings surrounding this late 20th century edifice in the center of Sweetwater. 
#2:  Taylor County, Abilene.

Just to the east of Nolan County is Taylor County.  Besides sharing a common border, these two counties share a common problem:  ugly courthouses.  The Taylor County courthouse was the first to be erected, followed a few later by Nolan County.  Taylor County has a greater population and, thus, a larger ugly courthouse than Nolan County.  Given more money to spend, the Taylor County building doesn't disappoint.  It's tall, imposing and fortress-like.  From what planet this spaceship arrived, I don't know.  Bonus points:  it's very difficult to find the door to this building!  The day I was there numerous signs were scattered around the building, directing me to the entrance.

Hummm.  1977.  What were architects drinking (smoking?) in the 1970's?  My theory:  after the hostile post WWI reaction to traditional architectural styles and the embrace of the modern "international" style, architects were left with little appreciation of good, timeless design and the results were predictable.  The current Nueces courthouse replaced a beautiful classical building that still stands, waiting to be restored or demolished.  The "new" courthouse is a sprawling mega-structure with precast concrete panels and odd windows with gold tinted glass.  Sad, very sad.

October has been a very busy month.  I've visited and photographed 10 county seats and re-visited a few more.  New counties included Refugio, San Patricio, Kleberg, Kenedy, Nueces, Aransas, Calhoun, Webb, Zapata, and Jim Hogg.  I also re-visited Jackson, LaSalle, and Live Oak counties. 

Most importantly, on October 27 I reached the halfway point of my journey:  county seat number 127!  The honor goes to Laredo, seat of Webb County.  Thankfully, Webb County has preserved its beautiful 1909 courthouse and erected additional county buildings as need for new space arises, rather than demolishing the "old" courthouse to make way for a "new" building.  I received a warm welcome at the historic courthouse and a personal, guided tour of the building. 

Today I'm honored to be the featured speaker at the SRT San Jacinto Chapter's monthly meeting in Houston.  My good friend and colleague, Ron Brown, P.E., is President of this Chapter.  Ron is of the opinion his membership will find my project interesting.  My presentation is an introduction to my courthouse project, with emphasis on the initial experiences that ultimately led me to undertake this project.  I've got about 35 minutes to cover the material.  Wish me luck! 

Hondo, seat of Medina County is number 19 on my list.  The courthouse dates from 1892, but it's been altered and, in 1942, had a pair of "wings" added.  The building is in fair condition, but could use a complete restoration.  I spent an hour walking the downtown.  There are a number of 19th and 20th century buildings that are interesting.  And, a railroad running through the center of town, so I'm happy. 

Back home in Houston.  Saturday morning I drove to nearby Washington County, "birthplace of Texas" and home of Blue Bell Ice Cream.  Two very important facts in my opinion.  The county seat is Brenham.  It's number 16 on my list.  Although the courthouse is a rather typical, boring 1930's federal style building, the surrounding historic downtown is worth a visit.  While there visit the Brenham Heritage Museum on Market Street.  The new director, Doug Price, has a great building, the former US Post Office, to work with and a lot of energy.  Brenham is home to many fine 19th century buildings that are in very good condition.  I had lunch at "Eats" on the courthouse square.  The Shiner Bock was cold and only $2 a bottle.  Good enough to earn a thumbs up from me!

On my way home I stopped by the Austin County courthouse in Bellville.  The juxtaposition of this 1960's modern building in the center of the traffic circle in the traditional town square is odd.  On this visit I toured the county museum, located in the 19th century jail, just off the square.  Austin County is number 17 on my list.