This week I had the blessing of being able to travel into Texas to pick up some items for work. My travels took me through several small towns in the eastern part of the state and I really enjoyed the scenery.
When I traveled through the small town of Newton I was struck by the amazing architectural structure that occupied the center of its town square. I am of course referring to the Newton County Courthouse which stands out due to its unique design. I discovered that the building has had a rather interesting history.
The current Newton County Courthouse is the second courthouse built in Newton replacing one constructed in 1853 shortly after Newton became the county seat. The first county courthouse was constructed in Burkeville in 1848, two years following the establishment of Newton County on August 22, 1846.
The courthouse is sited at the intersection of Court and Kaufman Streets in Newton. The 1902 Second Empire courthouse was built by contractors Martin and Moody of Commanche. The three story brick structure features a clock and bell tower, mansard roof and corner quoins. Stylistically, the building is unusual because it reflects a 19th century style popular twenty or thirty years earlier. Destroyed by catastrophic fire in 2000, the courthouse was reconstructed and restored to its 1936 exterior period of significance.
In 1919 and again in 1925 the interior was modified to provide more functional spaces including downsizing the district courtroom. In 1937, a new two-story Newton County jail was completed as an annex to the original 1902 building. The courthouse and annex were plastered with stucco at that time.
Check out these interesting facts:
A monument to the Reverend Henry Stephenson was dedicated on the courthouse lawn in 1926. Reverend Stephenson was reputed to have preached the first Protestant evangelical sermon in the State of Texas.
The 1902 Newton County courthouse and jail were built for $21,947. Clay for the brick courthouse was mined on nearby Caney creek and molded and fired on the courthouse square.
The Honorable Dan Moody, Governor of Texas, delivered a political speech to a large crowd on the square in 1926.
Originally, the courthouse had a faux clock in the tower. In 1929, a real four-faced clock was installed by local benefactors in honor of Dr. J.S. Peavy and wife, Maryann Fuller.
On February 15, 1932, a bloody jail break took place. The county sheriff and a citizen coming to his aid were killed in gunfire trying to prevent the break. The jail breaker, who had murdered his wife the night before, was killed by another citizen arriving on the scene.
A catastrophic fire attributed to faulty wiring in the attic near the bell tower erupted on the evening of August 4, 2000. The fire spread quickly throughout the building causing the bell tower to collapse through the center of the structure. Much of the interior was destroyed with many county records and documents damaged.
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Obviously I had to pull over and take a handful of photos of such an amazing looking building. I was blessed to be at the right place at the right time to be able to catch the sun just as it rose to the proper height to shine brightly through the bell tower creating such a wonderful spiritual image.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.
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