STORY OF TWO COURTHOUSES IN SNYDER

 

Scurry County was created in 1876 from Bexar County and organized June 28, 1884 with Snyder as the county seat. The townsite of Snyder originated from a camp of buffalo hunters on Deep Creek. It was named for W. H. (Pete) Snyder, who had a trading post in 1878 for the hunters. In the Commissioners' Court minutes of August, 1884 eight men are listed as donors of lots for the "courthouse square" which was to be the center of the business area. The donors were W. H. Snyder, C. C. McGinnis, C. H. McGinnis, Fred Barnard, T. N Nunn, R. H. Looney, H. A. Travekes and R. H. Allen.
      Citizens voted bonds in the amount of $19,300 for the construction of a courthouse but the final cost was $25,000. The bonds were purchased by local citizens. This was considered a large sum of bonded indebtedness for a county with fewer than a thousand residents. The courthouse was located on the northeast corner of the courthouse square with a jail built north of it. Board walks led from the street to the building, which faced south. The courthouse was two stories and built of locally made red brick. The jail was one story and joined the courthouse on the north. Both were completed in 1886 and used until a second courthouse was completed in 1911.
      A hitching rail of chain with posts about ten feet apart enclosed the courthouse square. In the center of the square was a community well with a windmill. At one time there were two large concrete water troughs for animals, one on the north side and one on the south side of the square. Later there was a bandstand on the northwest corner.
      In 1894, the commissioners' court designated four county roads to run the four directions from the square. This designation played an important part in forming the four county precincts. It also influenced the architectural plan of the second courthouse.
      Within twenty-five years there was a need for a new and larger courthouse. From 1886 to 1900, Scurry County began to "settle up" rapidly. Communities with post offices were established over the county. Two railroads came through - the RS&P in 1908 and the Santa Fe in 1911. It was proposed to build a new courthouse which was to cost $75,000, and of course the cost was more. On July 3, 1909 the cornerstone was laid for the new courthouse and it was completed and put into use on November 5, 1911.
      The red brick courthouse was used until the new three-story yellow brick building in the center of the square was completed, then it was demolished.

The second courthouse had four doors that corresponded with the four designated county roads of 1894. There was a picturesque dome with places for four clocks which were never installed. Figures of eagles, with wings spread, made of metal and concrete, were placed on the top of the four sides, centered over the doors three stories below. A fifth eagle was on the peak of the dome. Lightning struck the eagle on the west and in time the others crumbled and were removed. Through the years the picturesque dome, which was built so that it always leaked, became a haven for birds and bats. Finally, when part of the interior of the dome fell in, it was not advisable to repair it. It was removed in 1950, when there were also other renovations made to the building.
      In 1919-20 the streets around the Snyder square were leveled and graded (not paved) and concrete walks were made around the square. At this time, the hitching chain and water troughs were removed. The old-timers protested when the hitching chain was not replaced. In the era of automobiles, there was no longer a need for the hitching rail, but it was a hot issue in town for a while. The streets were paved in 1925-26 with hand-laid bricks that required very little repair or upkeep until 1968 when they were covered with asphalt.
      (Editor's note: In 1971, the county commissioners approved plans and specifications for a $550,000 courthouse improvement project. No bond issue was required, since funds could be taken from the county's contingency fund. There was opposition to the project.
      J. D. Hinton, Snyder architect, presented plans which called for an exterior of Texas pink granite and white concrete columns. Changes inside would add about 2,400 square feet of floor space. County offices were moved to temporary quarters which included the basement of the Hugh Boren and Son Insurance building and the Brownfield Building on the northwest corner of the square, the Scurry County coliseum and the Better Living Building west of Cogdell Memorial Hospital in Cogdell Center. Work on the project began on June 22 and was completed about fifteen months later. The structure now has an outer shell which is a combination of Greek Revival and Modernistic, with a mansard roof. The space between the yellow brick and the granite walls has been floored and is used for storage in some areas.)

The official Texas Historical Marker is located on the northeast corner of the square, near the site of the first courthouse.

Inscription:

        SCURRY COUNTY COURTHOUSE SITE AND BUILDING

   Seat of justice for Scurry County, created 1876 and organized 1884. County landowners - R. H. Allen, Fred Barnerd, 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 then the watering trough and hitching rail.
      (1967)