The 1923 Dallam County Courthouse, in the Texas Panhandle, exhibits features
typical of governmental buildings constructed during the resurgence of
classicism in the early 20th century. A three-story red brick building with
a half-basement, the courthouse has a rectangular plan and a flat roof. The
interior reflects Beaux Arts planning influences with central cross axe and
classical detailing. Facing south on Fifth Street in Dalhart, the building
occupies a block at the center of the brick-paved town. The site is flat,
with a cultivated lawn and several mature trees planted around the building.
In excellent condition, the courthouse retains its historical and
architectural integrity to a high degree.
In the semi-arid region of the Great Plains, Dallam County is prairie land,
broken by creeks, none of which are proximate to the courthouse. Dalhart,
the county seat, is near the southeast corner of the county. The southern
portion of the town (beginning at 11th Street) is in Hartley County. The
Fort Worth and Denver and the former Chicago, Rock Island and Gulf
(currently the St. Louis-Southwestern) railways intersect in Dalhart about
four blocks north of the courthouse. North of the tracks much of the
community follows a grid plan oriented on a northwest-southeast diagonal,
while south of the tracks the grid plan is laid out on the cardinal
directions. (See MAP 8.)
Although the courthouse visually dominates the block, it is not centered but
set back so that the primary (south) elevation fronts an extensive lawn,
while the rear (north) faces an alley. Vegetation in the region is
historically sparse, but the courthouse's modest landscaping scheme includes
mature elm trees, juniper and crepe myrtles. Historic photographs reveal
that such features were introduced with settlement and have always been
minimal. Three subordinate monuments on the courthouse grounds include a
1945 memorial to Dalhart high school students who died in World War II
(concrete base, bronze place and flagpole), a 1986 sesquicentennial
commemorative marker (stone base with wrought iron impression of XIT Ranch),
and a 1991 Official Texas Historical Marker (see site plan on MAP 9).
The 5-bay main (south) facade has a centered, projecting portico supported
by four colossal order Ionic columns capped with a classically influenced
entablature (see Photograph 1). The double entry doors are surrounded by
transom and side lights and capped with a heavy segmental pediment. Windows
on either side of the door are 1/1 surmounted by radiating brick voissoirs
and a keystone. brick pilasters with cast stone detailing enunciate each 90
degree angle of the building. A cast stone water table encircles the
building near its base, as does a cast stone string course above the second
level windows and a cast stone denticulated cornice. Simpler cast stone
cornice projects above the third level windows, continuing as the
entablature above the entry columns. Cast coping outlines the stepped
parapet, which has an "Alamotif." Most windows in the building are 12/1,
with 4/4 and 3/3 windows denoting utilitarian spaces within. Protective bars
shield the clerks offices and the old third floor jail spaces. A circa 1923
photograph shows standard light posts with multiple globes that once stood
to either side of this facade's entry stairway; these were removed by about
1940, according to another historic photograph (see Photographs 2 and 3). A
marble cornerstone is at the west corner of this facade (see Photographs 4
and 5).
The east and west facades follow a similar pattern (see Photograph 6). Each
has 3 bays with a centered projecting two-story portico supported by two
colossal order Ionic columns and crested with the classically influenced
entablature that wraps around the building. Stairwells access the basement
entrances, which are multi-paned double doors with transoms and sidelights.
Although the rear (north) facade echoes the detailing of the other
elevations, it lacks a grandiose entrance (see Photograph 7). It has a small
centered entrance to the main floor, (enclosed with a frame vestibule) and a
metal fire escape servicing the second and third levels.
A central east/west corridor divides the basement, which is sunk a
half-story, into office quadrants. Entry to the basement from the exterior
is by the two stairways on the east and west sides of the building (see MAP
10). The main office floor is raised high above the ground and houses county
offices as well as the county court room. Primary exterior access to this
first floor is from the south side of the building (see MAP 11). On the
second and third floors, offices surround the two-story district courtroom
(see MAP 12 and Photograph 8). The balcony of the courtroom is currently
used for storage. The interior remains largely intact and exhibits modest
classical detailing, such as Ionic columns and deep cornices (see Photograph
9).
The Dallam County Courthouse retains its integrity to a remarkable degree.
In particular the property's architectural character (location, setting,
design, materials, and workmanship) remains virtually unchanged. With these
physical features intact, the building clearly maintains its historic
associations and feeling.
Texas courthouses, as the pre-eminent building type associated with local
government in Texas during the mid- 19th through mid 20th centuries,
symbolize the general prosperity, aspirations, and sophistication of the
counties in which they stand. Serving as the local seat of justice since
1923, the Dallam County Courthouse played a pivotal role in county politics
and meets Criterion A in the area of Politics/Government. An unprecedented
building in the county and the town, the courthouse also meets Criterion C
in the area of Architecture as an exceptional local example of Classical
Revival design.
In the extreme northwest corner of the Texas Panhandle, Dallam County is
bounded by New Mexico on the west and Oklahoma on the north. Parts of this
and nine other north Texas counties comprised the three million acre tract
the state traded in 1882 to finance construction of the state capitol in
Austin. The resulting XIT Ranch once operated on much of the land now
chartered for Dallam County.
The Fort Worth and Denver City Railroad linked Fort Worth with Texline, near
the northwest corner of the county in 1888. Officially organized in 1891,
Dallam County was named for James Wilmar Dallam, a prominent Texas lawyer
and editor. With approximately 112 resident in the county, Texline served as
county seat with a two-story frame courthouse/school.
In early 1901 the Chicago, Rock Island, and Mexico Railway (later the
Chicago, Rock Island, and Gulf Railway) built west from Liberal, Kansas, and
crossed the Fort Worth and Denver City line at the southern boundary of the
county, a juncture that hastily changed names in early 1901 from Twist, to
Twist Junction, and then to Denrock. By May 1901 the community, which traded
both Dallam and Hartley counties, became known as Dalhart. In 1903 the
County commissioners' Court ordered that a new courthouse be constructed on
Block 18 of the original townsite; John A. White of Vernon was awarded the
building contract (see 8-5; demolished circa 1922).
A 1919 editorial in the Dalhart Texan stressed the need for a modern
courthouse facility. Commissioners issued warrants to fund the project, but
construction was enjoined in 1920. Postponements and litigation ensued.
Finally, a $150,000 bond issue passed in June 1922 enabling the court to
hire J. Roy Smith and William C. Townes of Amarilloas architects and A.F.
Stewart of the Stewart Construction Company in Oklahoma City as contractor
for the new courthouse. They selected Block 51 of the original townsite as
its location.
Smith and Townes elected to follow the well established architectural trend
for public buildings by designing a modified classical temple. The 1893
Columbian Exposition aroused interest in reviving classical styles that
became prevalent throughout the country during the first half of the 20th
century, particularly for public buildings. Like other public buildings
constructed around this time in the Texas Panhandle, such as the Hartley
County Courthouse (1906), the Hale County Courthouse (1910), the Roberts
County Courthouse (1913), the Taylor County Courthouse (1914), the Crosby
County Courthouse (1914), the Lynn County Courthouse (1916), the Sherman
County Courthouse (1922), and the Wheeler County Courthouse (1925),
directness and simplicity characterize this temple. Typical of Classical
Revival design, the Dallam County Courthouse employs a symmetrical
rectangular plan, broad expanses of plain wall surfaces, and balanced
fenestration. Its rudimentary cubical form is articulated by colossal order
Ionic columns that support a heavy cornice, and brick pilasters that
reinforce the classical motif. Cast stone classical details, such as the
window sill consoles, dentils, coping and escutcheon, are emphasized against
the red brick. The central facade parapets, influenced by Mission Revival
design, mimic the roof parapets found on some Spanish colonial-era mission
buildings. Mission-styled architecture commonly borrowed typical Hispanic
design elements, like curvilinear parapets, and adapted them to embellish
more traditional buildings, particularly in the American Southwest.
The plan of this building reveals a Beaux Arts arrangement in spatial
hierarchy by raising the main floor high above the ground with an entry
point from the south facade of the building. The basement is sunk a
half-story with access from two stairways from the east and west sides of
the building. This simple innovation assisted in adapting the basement as
more efficient public space, while a majestic staircase endowed prominence
to the main entrance.
The subsequent history of the courthouse has been one of few sensational
trials or great events. However, as in most counties, the courthouse was the
nucleus of political and social activity. Courthouse hearings have been
generally for crimes of stealing cattle, bootlegging and gaming, according
to Hartley County Historical Commission Chairman Patricia Kirkeminde.
|
