The Blanco County Courthouse: One Hundred Years of History

The Blanco County Courthouse: One Hundred Years of History. . On February 11, 1858 the state legislature created Blanco county and mandated that the "county seat thereof shall also be called Blanco and should be within five miles of the center of the county. By 1862, however, boundary changes meant that the town of Blanco was no longer at the county's geographical center. James Polk Johnson and other settlers on the Pedernales River began petitioning for a new county seat, and in 1879 Johnson City was founded near the new center of the county in hopes that it would become the county seat. After a number of hotly contested elections the people of the north were successful, and in 1890 Johnson City became the seat of county government., Following the election, the present day Johnson City Bank building was used as a courthouse, but it proved inadequate. Henry T. Felps, a San Antonio architect, designed a new courthouse, and on October 1, 1915, the construction contract was awarded to James Waterston, a stonemason trained in Scotland who had come to Texas in 1883 to work on the construction of the state capitol building., Wagon and mule teams hauled rough hewn stone for the new courthouse from Deer Creek, about two miles south of town. Lime for the mortar came from four miles southeast of Johnson City. As the building progressed, the finished stones were hoisted into place by block-and tackle pulled by mules., The Commissioners Court officially accepted the new courthouse on September 1, 1916, and a gala celebration ceremony took place. Free barbecue, local dignitaries, and speakers from Austin were part of the event. That evening, townsfolk presented a talent show which was followed by a dance. A majority of attendees came by horse and buggy, so those from some distance left home before daylight in order to avoid the heat and to enjoy the day., In rural areas the courthouse continues to be the center and the heartbeat of the people. It has been no less for Blanco County. It is likely that if James Waterston could see the courthouse today he would recognize it as the same building which he constructed more than a century ago., Captions , Lower Left: The courthouse under various phases of construction. , Lower Center: Blanco county residents celebrate the completed courthouse in 1916. , Upper Right: Blanco County in 1916. Blanco, the county seat from 1858 to 1890, highlighted in yellow. Johnson City, the county seat from 1890 to the present, is highlighted in red. , Lower Right: The courthouse in the left photo was built in Blanco in 1885. After Johnson City became the county seat in 1890, the building continued to serve many purposes including school, hospital, and museum. , The current courthouse (right) as seen in 1918.