Beckham County Courthouse

Beckham County Courthouse. Sayre, Oklahoma. , Beckham county was created at statehood from portions of territorial Greer and Roger Mills counties. It was named for J.C. Beckham, former governor of Kentucky. Sayre, a town founded in 1891 and named for a railroad promoter, won the title of county seat in an election held June 16, 1908, edging Erick by only eleven votes. The county courthouse was completed in 1911 at a cost of $69,000.00. Designed by Solomon A. Layton, an associate of the turn-of-the century firm Layton, Wemyss, Smith and Hawk. Historians have dubbed Layton "Father of Oklahoma courthouses.” The cornerstone for the present courthouse was laid in 1911, built by Oklahoma Quarries and Construction Company. The building was a symmetrical blend of Neo-Classical and Second Renaissance Revival styles. Outstanding features include colossal Doric columns above the main entryway, classical pilasters, a grooved surface on the ground floor, and distinctive belt courses. The most unique part of the design was the dome, with a colonnade supporting a vaulted and babbled roof. On top of that was a smaller dome reproduced to scale. And for just a few seconds, the courthouse has a cameo role in the 1940's movie "The Grapes of Wrath.” As the Okies round a corner on their way out of Oklahoma, they drive past the picturesque, domed building.