| Title |
Ellis County Courthouse (1896) |
| County |
Ellis |
| City |
Waxahachie |
| Address |
101 W. Main Street, Waxahachie TX 75165 |
| Zip |
|
| Current Use |
Active Courthouse |
| Owner |
County |
| Service Dates |
1896-present |
| Constructed |
1896 |
| Architect |
J. Riely Gordon
|
| Contractor |
Otto Kroeger, San Antonio |
| Style |
Romanesque Revival |
| Square Feet |
|
| RTHL Note |
1963 |
| RTHL |
Yes |
| SAL Note |
1983 |
| SAL |
Yes |
| NR District |
1975 |
| NR Note |
1975 |
| NR |
Yes |
| HD Eligible |
No |
| Description |
Constructed of rusticated red sandstone and pink and gray granite in the Romanesque Revival style. The building features four arch entry porticos, carved sandstone details, a wide band of checkerboard pattern of sandstone and pink granite, highly ornamental gabled dormers and intersecting hip roofs with a central square tower with a pyramidal roof and corner engaged finials with conical roofs. |
| Modifications |
-Elevator in central stair opening-Offices built in second story porches- ISTEA Grant - Proposed renovation of portions of courthouse through exterior preservation, the installation of a visitors center and landscaping. The most critical exterior renovation includes repair of the slate roof over the main portion of the building and repair of leaking roofs over there-entrant porches. Additional work includes weatherizing and rehabilitation of the first and second floor windows, the removal of glass blocks enclosing two second-floor porches, and the stabilization of all masonry on the tower an in the most critical areas of lower walls of the building. Landscaping will include removal of foundation plantings and concrete pavement abutting the building walls and the installation of a perimeter subgrade drainage system. Project scheduled to be let in April 1998. |
| Deed Covenant Expiration |
1996 |
| Federal Grant Project |
|
| Federal Grant Year |
|
| State Grant Project |
Masterplan |
| State Grant Amount |
5000 |
| State Grant Year |
1991 |
| Historic Structure Report Date |
1997 |
| Historic Structure Report Author |
ArchiTexas |
| Master Plan Date |
1997 |
| Master Plan Author |
ArchiTexas |
| Historic American Buildings Survey |
TX-3434 |
| County Population (1995) |
|
| Easement |
Easement |
| Easement Executed |
6/12/2000 |
| Easement Expiration |
perpetuity |
| Master Plan |
Yes |
| Architect Firm |
|
| Bibliography |
The People's Architecture |
| Construction Docs |
specifications POSSIBLE (THC - copy), architect's rendering (THC - copy), WPA records plan 1934 ABT (UT Center for American History), cornerstone detail drawings 1896 (UT Alexander Archives) |
| Interior Images |
Tax Office 1908 THCPP Erath County Completion Report |
