Scurry County Courthouse Site and Building

Scurry County Courthouse Site and Building. . , Seat of justice for Scurry County, created 1876 and organized 1884. Local landholders--R. H. Allen, Fred Barnard, R. H. Looney, C. C. McGinnis, C. H. McGinnis, T. N. Nunn, W. H. Snyder and H. A. Travekes--donated lots in center of town for the courthouse square. Bonds for construction were purchased by local citizens. , The original 2-story courthouse of locally made red brick was built in 1886 in northeast corner of the square, on site of a former buffalo trail. A jail, built farther northeast, was joined to courthouse by a corridor. Board sidewalks led to the building. A chain hitching rail for horses enclosed the square. , The public windmill, focus for civic and social gatherings, was located in the center of the square. , The commissioners court designated the boundaries of the four county precincts according to the north, east, south, and west lanes approaching the courthouse and these precinct boundaries are still used. , The first courthouse was razed in 1911, after the present one was erected, 1909-11. This building had a dome, which was removed in 1950 remodeling. , A part of the old square is now paved, as today's courthouse visitors require auto space rather than the watering trough and hitching rail.