Search on for clues to 1909 county courthouse

BY Fort Bend Herald Staff
Published:
Wednesday, November 11, 2009 11:27 AM CST

Facing a December deadline for submitting a grant application to restore the old Fort Bend County Courthouse, preparers of the application are trying to determine what the Richmond landmark looked like when first occupied in 1909.

Upon completion of the county's new Justice Center on Williams Way, most current occupants of the century-old courthouse on Jackson Street will be leaving it.

County fathers, however, are not forgetting the building and its significance to the county.

A committee consisting of county employees and Fort Bend County Museum Association board members is searching the records of both entities for photos and written data about the historical structure.

Committee members are also asking the public for help.

"We are hopeful that people will come forward with information that will help us replicate the 1909 courthouse," said committee chair J.C. Whitten.

Whitten, who handles special projects for the office of County Judge Bob Hebert, said he is primarily referring to old photos, especially interior shots taken in the courthouse in the 1930s and before.

"But there also may be data other than photos that could help," he added. "Personal recollections, maybe something written in a letter or found in an old newspaper - those would all be of value."

A major reason for focusing the renovation on the era in which the courthouse was constructed lies with the grant prospects. Staff members of the Texas Historical Commission's Courthouse Preservation Program, the grant funding entity, favor restoring the building to its original appearance.

That strong preference is impacting the details of the grant application, the success of which means receiving state funding for up to 85 percent of the estimated $4 million cost involved.

"The county can't do this without the grant funds," Whitten said.

County Commissioners' Court has approved submission of the grant application. Bailey Architects of Houston, a veteran of courthouse restorations including the one in Wharton County, has been hired to prepare the technical aspects of the application.

Anyone with information about the 1909 courthouse in its early years is asked to contact committee member Tim Cumings at 281-341-8635 or by e-mail at cumintim@co.fort-bend.tx.us prior to Dec. 1.