The
National Register Text
| De Witt County Courthouse is a
three-story sandstone structure with a six-story clock tower. The sandstone
is rusticated throughout; the main fabric is of a cream color, the trim of
red sandstone The building is Richardsonian Romanesque and the architect,
A.O. Watson, was strongly influenced by the Allegheny County Courthouse in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The plan is central and basically square with four
corner pavilions. The roof is hipped and the main tower and the pavilions
have pyramidal roofs. The main facade consists of a recessed triple bay
section between flanking pavilions. The pavilions are united by a connecting
arcaded one-story porch very similar to that of the Pittsburgh building. The
tower rises behind the central bay, and is also in the style of Richardson's
building. The paired, single pane, first story windows of the front and
sides of the DeWitt County courthouse are set in large arched openings with
stone transoms and a grill in front of the glass in the arched opening
above. The windows at the back, those in the arcade, and the second story
windows are one- over-one light double hung sash type with stone lintels and
single pane transoms with grills above. The scheme of window placement in
the pavilions is that of one large arched opening at the first story, two
treated windows at the second story, and two trabeated windows set behind a
four- bay arcade at the third story. Balustrades define these arcades and
are also used between the side arches and as a protective railing above the
main port. The clustered columns of the porch are of the squat Richardson
type with Romanesque revival capitals. The large arches spring low and have
rusticated voussoirs finished with a drip-mold archivolt. All projecting
corners of the building have decorative quoins of narrow stones--alternately
placed on end (and extending three courses vertically) and on their sides.
The pavilions have engaged columns at the corners at the third story. The
corners of the tower have rounded edges or rusticated engaged columns at its
full height. The second, third and fourth story windows of the tower are
vertically grouped under a colossal arch. The four clock faces are simply
and effectively framed by radiating rusticated voussoirs in an inset square
panel. The top story is open with a three bay arcade.
In 1956 the Guido Brothers Construction Company of San Antonio modernized the interior and central air-conditioning and automatic elevators were installed. The DeWitt County Courthouse is a late nineteenth century Texas building strongly influenced by H. H. Richardson's Allegheny County Courthouse (1884-88) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The county is in south central Texas and was created in 1846 out of parts of Gonzales, Goliad, Victoria counties. The area approximated that of the original 1825 Mexican grant to Empresario Green DeWitt. |