Courthouses of Hardin County
In 1887, architect Frank Smith of Beaumont designed a two-story frame structure built in Kountze by local contractor W.B. Pedigo. A safe was positioned inside the structure and the walls were built around it. The building was replaced in 1905. J.B. Hooks moved the old courthouse across the street to become the J.B. Hooks Abstract Company.
A new masonry courthouse was erected in 1905. It was designed by Andrew P. Bryan and built by M.J. Lewman and Company. Domed in the tradition of the nation's capitol and the Texas State Capitol, the edifice was built of native stone from the Pecos area of West Texas. Salmon-colored brick was imported from the Hydraulic Press Brick Company of St. Louis, and the columns and bases were crafted by Bedford Stone Company. A carbide lighting system was installed in 1918. A three-story colonial-style sandstone building was erected with four 24-foot two-story columns front and back and 16 smaller columns supporting the dome. This building served until 1958.
A modern facility was planned by Dickson-Dickson and Associates and built by Lumbeck Construction Company in 1958. The 1905 edifice was destroyed in 1960.
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Erected 1999 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 11930.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Government & Politics. A significant historical year for this entry is 1858.
Location. 30° 22.098′ N, 94° 19.002′ W. Marker is in Kountze, Texas, in Hardin County. It is on State Highway 326, on the right when traveling east. Located in the courthouse square. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 300 Monroe Street, Kountze TX 77625, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Texas’ Golden Triangle. It is also in the American South and in the Piney Woods. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the Republic of Texas, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Hardin County (here, next to this marker); Hooks Abstract Company (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Kirby-Hill House (about 800 feet away); Pine Lodge No. 642, A.F. & A.M. (approx. 0.2 miles away); General Braxton Bragg, C.S.A. (approx. 0.2 miles away); First Baptist Church of Kountze (approx. 0.2 miles away); First United Methodist Church of Kountze (approx. 0.3 miles away); Site of Kountze Baptist College (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kountze.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on July 25, 2011, by Steve Gustafson of Lufkin, Texas. This page has been viewed 940 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on July 25, 2011, by Steve Gustafson of Lufkin, Texas. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
