Somervell County Texas Courthouse

Around the Courthouse

The first courthouse on the square was completed around 1892 and burned down in 1893. The second courthouse on the square, the present day structure, was ordered built by the commissioners' court in 1893 and completed late in the same year for a cost of $13,500. This courthouse employed elements of the Romanesque Revival architectural style. The building also featured a mansard roof treatment and ornamental iron crestings which are characteristic of the General Grant style. The courthouse was constructed of locally queried limestone. In 1902 a tornado damaged the courthouse and many other buildings on the town square. The courthouse roof and clock tower were severely damaged. At that time, the small rural county didn't have the financial resources to properly repair the roof or replace the clock tower. A modest roof repair was made by local craftsmen which omitted the clock and some of the ornate details of the original roof. In 1986 the Somervell County Commissioners' Court voted to restore the county courthouse. The work was completed by Ray J. Miller Construction Company of Meridian under the direction of architects Huckabee and Donham of Stephenville, Texas. Final cost of restoring the building was $601,111.20.

"First Family of Glen Rose"
sculpted by John Watson
Charles and Juana Cavasos Barnard

Veterans Memorial of the Viet Nam Conflict

Directly behind courthouse