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Historical and Architectural Development

    The Dimmit County Courthouse is unique in its incorporation of an earlier Italianate design into its current rendition of the Classical Revival style – a building within a building. Whereas most counties demolished their older structures, Dimmit county reused an existing building in its 1926 enlargement of the courthouse. Remodeled in 1926 by Henry T. Phelps, the building today displays the characteristic features of the Classical Revival style, including a symmetrical facade, an imposing entry framed by monumental columns, a well-defined entablature and the use of rusticated, stone masonry. Still a dramatic landmark in the local setting, the courthouse occupies the square in the center of downtown so typical of Texas’ courthouse squares. The building has received few modifications over the years, retaining all of its original windows and exterior ornamentation. The Dimmit County Courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 and designated a State Archeological Landmark in 1992. Its nomination as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark is currently under consideration by the Texas Historical Commission.

Early History of Dimmit County

    Dimmit County lies to the southwest of San Antonio and Bexar County, within the Winter Garden District of south Texas and is bordered by Zavala, La Salle, Webb and Maverick counties. The earliest known attempt to settle the area was led by John Townsend, an African-American from Nacogdoches, who settled with a small group of families on Pendencia Creek around 1860.¹ Permanent settlement in the area dates to after the Civil War, when Levi English led a group of families from the Martin Settlement on the Leona River into the area. These early settlers lived in dug-outs and jacals and were plagued by Indian raids. It was not until Texas Rangers patrols arrived in the area in 1877 that cattle ranching became firmly established.² Whereas in 1870 the county had only 16 farms and ranches (with 15,575 cattle), by 1890 the area had 96 ranches with 44,934 cattle. These developments marked the beginning of the permanent colonization of the area. The first census of 1870 recorded a population of 109 which increased ten-fold to 1,049 by 1890.³

    The county was created in 1858 from parts of Bexar, Webb, Maverick and Uvalde counties. Named in honor of one of the framers of the Goliad Declaration of Independence, Philip Dimmit, the name was inadvertently misspelled on the papers submitted to the legislature.⁴ The county was not formally organized, however, until 1880. In June of that year several residents, including the future county judge (A.W. Hazelrigg) and sheriff (Joseph Tumlison) traveled to Eagle Pass to petition Maverick County for an election to establish the new county. Despite the stall tactics of the Maverick County Commissioners Court, the item was ordered placed on the November general election. Carrizo Springs, the largest settlement located in the northern area of the county, was selected as the county seat. Land for the new county seat was donated by Levi and Matilda English in September of 1880. Two deeds were filed transferring the land. The first deed, signed September 4th, specified Block 5 for use as a county building with the current courthouse square designated as a public square with a stipulation no building be placed upon it. A second deed, signed on September 11th, conveyed 20 blocks of land to the county with no stipulation as to their use.⁵ The first election of officials was held December 6th, 1880, with A.W. Hazelrigg serving as county judge and J.R. Sweeten, Grey White, and George Cavender serving as commissioners.⁶ Commissioners Court held their first meeting on January 31, 1881 to set taxes for the county at a rate of 20 cents per $100 valuation. In addition, a special tax for a courthouse and jail fund was set at 25 cents per $100 valuation.⁷ The minutes for this meeting, as well as subsequent meetings, do not indicate where the commissioners court was meeting during these early years. Although the exact location of county government is not known, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court most likely met within one of the existing store buildings

Construction of First County Courthouse

    A permanent courthouse was not discussed until the end of 1883, two years after the first meeting of the new county. On November 12, 1883, Dimmit County Commissioners Court selected Alfred Giles as the architect for a permanent stone courthouse for the new county.⁸ The courthouse was to be funded by borrowing up to $12,000 dollars from the public school fund.⁹ The bids for the project however, exceeded the amount the county had budgeted to spend on the project. Three bids were submitted including $17,900 from Frank Fox, $23,224.75 from Cotton and Watson, and $24,223 from D.C. Andrews.¹⁰ As a result, no award was made at this time. In the ensuing week, there must have been much discussion concerning the courthouse amongst members of the court as well as the community. At the next meeting of Commissioners Court on November 26, 1883, a group of more than thirty citizens presented a petition requesting the court withdraw their sale of school fund property and limit the construction amount of the courthouse to less than $15,000. As a result, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court rejected the previous bids as well as setting aside the plans submitted by Alfred Giles. Also appearing at this meeting was a representative of J.G. Breeding and Sons, architects of San Antonio, who presented plans and specifications for a courthouse which were accepted by the court. Two contractors also appeared with bids prepared according to the plans and specifications of Breeding. The contractor submitting the winning bid of $11,800 was none other than the man who led the petitioning citizens, J. Thompson.¹¹ The following day, the Commissioners Court issued a courthouse bond in the amount of $14,000 and ordered the courthouse be built on Block # 5.¹²

    The Dimmit County Commissioners Court accepted the building from the contractor on August 28, 1884.¹³ The resultant two-story, stone building was a simple cube-shaped mass with each facade composed of five-bays framed by stone faced pilasters at each corner.¹⁴ The wooden, double-hung windows were capped by stone lintels on the ground floor and segmental arches on the upper floor. The second floor

window openings were larger than those of the ground floor to provide adequate ventilation for the courtroom which occupied most of the second floor. The hipped, mansard roof featured a cast iron roof cresting and two interior chimneys. The entrance to the building faced south onto Pena Street and featured an Italianate style, double-gallery wood porch. A hipped roof with cresting crowned the porch and was inset under a gable along the main roofline. The first floor consisted of a hallway running from south to north, with three offices on each side. Along the east side of the hallway (from the entry to the rear of the courthouse) were the vault, an office shared by the district clerk, the county clerk and the county judge’s office. Along the west side of the hallway (from the entry to the rear of the courthouse) were two offices of unknown assignment with the tax collector and the sheriff’s offices at the end of the hallway. The stairway, located just inside the front door, led directly into the courtroom on the second floor. On either side of the stairs was a room. The room to the east was used as a jury room, and the room to the west was later used by the City of Carrizo Springs.¹⁵ The final cost of the courthouse was $15,490. The county saved almost $2,500 in construction costs by not using the plans of Alfred Giles.¹⁶ The fees claimed by the two architectural firms were almost identical.¹⁷

    In the spring of 1884, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court commissioned J.C. Breeding and Son to design a jail for the county.¹⁸ The minutes indicated an appropriation of $13,000 which is struck out, and it is unclear what the final cost of the jail may have been. The jail was financed by borrowing from the state school fund at 6% interest. J.P. Johnson also served as contractor for the jail. No photographs of the first jail survive, but it was located on the site of the current jail on Austin Street, one block west of the courthouse. The new jail was accepted the same day as the courthouse, August 28, 1884.¹⁹

    J.C. Breeding and Sons of San Antonio became the architect of record for the new courthouse.²⁰ But the extent to which their design was based on that of Alfred Giles will never be known as neither set of plans survive.²¹ Certainly, however, Giles’ plans were on file at the courthouse and the new architects would most likely have had access to them. The Court rejected Giles’ drawings based largely on the cost of executing the design. They may have asked Breeding and Sons to eliminate some of the more costly details of Giles’ design, a common approach to public commissions in the late nineteenth century. The final design of the courthouse contains similarities with courthouses designed by Giles during the 1880s, particularly the Wilson and Guadalupe County courthouses. Italianate in design, the cubical masses of these courthouses bear a resemblance to the Dimmit County Courthouse. In addition, the use of hipped or mansard roofs with a gabled roof section over the entrance and a main entry surmounted by a balcony are common to all three buildings. Both Guadalupe and Wilson counties, however, employ a central tower. The flat section of the roof on the Dimmit County Courthouse would appear to have been destined to receive such a crowning feature as a tower. Furthermore, Giles’ courthouse designs are rectangular in plan. As the Dimmit County Courthouse is almost square, the county may have further reduced the cost of the structure by reducing its overall size. The rejection of the plans by Giles resulted in a lawsuit for the county filed by Giles in the District Court of Bexar County in October of 1884. Dimmit County attended court, but settled the suit by paying Giles the sum of $400.²²

There are no newspaper accounts of the opening or dedication of a cornerstone for the new courthouse.²³ The courthouse, with one primary entrance, faced south on the courthouse square towards Pena Street, the most developed commercial strip at that time. The original construction contract did not include any funds for landscaping. In the summer of 1899, a fence was erected around the courthouse square with a gate on each side.²⁴ The courthouse square, however, was never elaborately landscaped. At the time of construction, there was a large group of mesquite trees at the southwest corner of the square. According to secondary sources, approximately 36 trees were planted around the courthouse in 1900 by W.P. Vivion and a number of hackberry trees were planted in the 1910s.²⁵ Other features of the courthouse square

included a watering trough on the southwest corner (1901), a water well (1903), sidewalks (1911), and a public watering trough on the east side of the courthouse square (1913).²⁶ The surrounding streets were dirt roads until the 1920s. Fifth Street (on the west boundary of the courthouse square) had two large mesquite trees in the center of the street which were used as hitching posts. These were finally cut down in 1913 when the city graded and improved the streets.²⁷ As in most county seats throughout Texas, the courthouse lawn witnessed a variety of community gatherings, from political rallies to farmer’s markets. In 1914, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court authorized the use of the east side of the courthouse lawn for the playing of lawn tennis.²⁸ The City of Carrizo Springs erected street lights for three blocks along Pena and 5th streets and around the perimeter of the courthouse square in 1917. The minutes of the City of Carrizo Springs City Council (Book 1, pages 238-239) include a page from a catalogue illustrating the type of light standard purchased by the city. It is not known when these street lights were removed. Many of the landscape features from this period are no longer evident on the courthouse square. Only the water trough (now located on the southeast corner), sidewalks, and a handful of declining palm and hackberry trees survive. The existing landscape of the courthouse square is described more fully in Section Three of the master plan which addresses existing conditions.

    Even as the courthouse was being accepted by the Dimmit County Commissioners Court, the citizens were requesting its use for other activities. In August of 1884, two weeks before the courthouse was accepted by the court, the Knights and Ladies of Honor and the United Friends of Temperance requested to use the courtroom for their meetings.²⁹ In addition, the Methodist Church met in the courthouse from 1884 through 1890, and both the Methodist and Baptist churches used the courthouse after a cyclone destroyed the Baptist Church.³⁰ Reportedly, the first Catholic Mass in Carrizo Springs occurred within the courthouse in 1904.³¹ Indeed, the courthouse was used so frequently by the community that the Dimmit County Commissioners Court passed a resolution in August of 1899 ordering the courthouse to be used only for holding court or for public meetings.³² After the local school burned in 1904, the school board borrowed the benches out of the courtroom. Perhaps because of the need for the benches for the court’s purposes, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court granted the school board permission to hold school in the courtroom until their new building was completed.³³ By 1910, the court granted permission to the City of Carrizo Springs to use a room in the southwest corner of the second floor until future notice.³⁴ In 1913, U.S. military troops camped on the courthouse lawn on their way to the Mexican border.³⁵

Very few modifications were made to the 1884 courthouse until its remodeling in 1926. The minutes of the Dimmit County Commissioners Court mention nothing more than modest repairs and maintenance. A water closet was added in 1909 according to secondary sources.³⁶ In fact, this may have been more of an earth closet, as a septic tank was only installed in June of 1916. Commissioners Court minutes describe the installation of three water closets in the courthouse at this time.³⁷ In addition, a new vault was installed in the county clerk’s office in 1913.38 The courthouse was wired for electricity in December of 1915, and by early 1919 phones were installed in the offices of the county judge, the county clerk and the sheriff.³⁹

Growth of Dimmit County

At the time of the construction of the courthouse in 1884, the county seat was flourishing with its own newspaper (The Javelin), several churches, a grocery, and livery stable.⁴⁰ Cattle ranching continued as a significant component of the local economy until the area experienced a severe drought between 1886 and 1887. The natural grassland was severely damaged by overgrazing and thousands of cattle died of starvation. By the late 1880s, however, the discovery of artesian wells in Dimmit County transformed the countryside and the economy into a veritable oasis known as the Winter Garden District. The first bank, Dimmit County State Bank, was established in 1905 across from the courthouse on Pena Street (at the corner of 5th Street) by W.F. McCaleb, owner of the McCaleb Mercantile Store. With water available for irrigation, the landscape became transformed into an agricultural oasis as new settlers arrived to farm the area’s rich soils, prompting a tenfold increase in the number of improved acres to 50,534. Land developers flocked to the area and established new towns such as Asherton, Big Wells, and Catarina. These promoters typified the role of entrepreneurship in the development of rural areas in the region. The developers realized the importance of providing a transportation link between farmers and the markets in San Antonio. When the San Antonio, Uvalde and Gulf Railway announced its intention to build through Dimmit County, it was not difficult to raise the necessary funds for the required railroad bonus. The arrival of rail service in 1910 spurred a further influx of population. A wealth of agricultural products, including Bermuda onions, strawberries, carrots, beets, and tomatoes, were shipped via the railroad to San Antonio for points east. In 1918, 48 cars of spinach were shipped. By 1924, this increased to 1,500 cars.⁴¹

Founded in 1909 by Asher Richardson, the town of Asherton soon mushroomed as Richardson founded his own railway spur, the Gulf and Asherton Railway, between his town and Cotulla. Richardson desired his new town to become the new county seat, but nothing came of it as the railway arrived in Carrizo Springs the following year and Richardson himself died a few years later in 1914. Furthermore, revisions to the 1876 Texas Constitution required that no new county seat could be established more than five miles from the geographical center of the county, and no existing county seat so located within five miles of the center could be moved without a two-thirds vote (rather than a simple majority vote if the existing county seat was located beyond five miles of the center of the county). It is unlikely Richardson would ever have met all of these conditions for moving the county seat.

Enlargement of Dimmit County Courthouse, 1925-1927

With a new boom on the horizon, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court laid plans to erect a new courthouse following a petition submitted by citizens in 1925 complaining of the need for a new courthouse. Within a few short months the county issued $70,061 in bonds to finance construction of a new courthouse, and Commissioners Court selected Henry T. Phelps as architect in December of 1925. This cost was increased by $10,000 in February of the following year due to changes in the original plans. Rather than demolish the existing courthouse, it was greatly enlarged. The San Antonio Construction Company (P.M. Gordon, owner) served as the contractor for the project with a bid of $65,961 awarded on December 22, 1925. Courthouse warrants were issued through Frost National Bank and Hanover National Bank of New York at 6% interest. A tax rate was set at 10 cents per $100 valuation to create a special fund to pay off the warrants.⁴² Several change orders were approved, but the minutes do not specifically state the nature of these changes.⁴³

Phelps’ plan for enlarging the courthouse demolished the north and south walls, replacing them with new wings which extended beyond the dimensions of the original courthouse plan. The center of the rear elevation and a portion of the wall within the porch area reveal the walls of the original 1884 construction. Phelps’ design in a Classical Revival style required a symmetrical facade. He changed the main entrance to the west side of the building, emphasizing its importance with four monumental columns and a recessed porch. A classical cornice ornamented with St. John’s crosses in relief and dentils crowns the building and is surmounted by a low parapet wall. The cornice over the entry is further defined with a scalloped parapet on which is engraved the name, "The Dimmit County Courthouse." Phelps retained the height of the original window openings, but made the openings wider to accommodate double windows. By using a transom over the second floor windows filled with the St. John’s Cross motif, he was able to adapt the taller window openings common to the late 19th century with the demands of his classical vocabulary. The surviving window openings still hold a single window unit (as is seen inside the recessed porch).

The cornerstone for the new courthouse was laid in a unique, prohibition-era ceremony on September 29, 1926. As reported in the local newspaper, "two bottles of bootleg captured by the sheriff were used to dampen the interior of the new courthouse [cornerstone]. The members of Commissioners Court acted as pallbearers." The bottle was placed within the cornerstone along with a note signed by Commissioners Court giving the "authority to resurrect the dead soldier in any manner you see fit. Guaranteed to be 100% pure. Herein lies Old John Barleycorn captured by R.T. Hall, sheriff, and laid to rest this the 29th day of September, 1926." Located at the northwest corner of the building on the west elevation, the exterior gray granite stone ceremonially lists the names of the Dimmit County Commissioners Court (Judge William Davis and Commissioners J.H. Broadhurst, J.M. Stone, W.A. Shumate, and J.A. McDonald), county clerk (W.G. White), the sheriff (R.T. Hall), tax assessor (W.H. Shaw), and treasurer (A.E. Eardley), along with that of the architect and contractor.⁴⁴ The courthouse was completed and accepted on March 29, 1927.

In 1926, the State Highway Commission appropriated $285,000 for two hard-surfaced state highways intersecting in Carrizo Springs along 5th Street. Thus, the new courthouse faced the new thoroughfare. During the early years of the Depression, the Highway Department hired men to plant palms along the highway.⁴⁵ It was at this time that palms were first planted around the courthouse, although few survive today. The flagpole which originally set on the roof above the main entrance was later replaced by a tall flagpole in front of the courthouse. Very little landscaping was executed at the time of construction besides some flowers along the sidewalk leading to the main entrance. During the late 1950s, however, the county’s home demonstration clubs planted bougainvillaea, bottle brush bushes, and cenizo on the south side of the courthouse.⁴⁶

The original plans for the courthouse do not survive, nor does Dimmit County retain any prints of the drawings. Phelps’ drawings came into the possession of a nephew who destroyed all of his records some years ago according to a conversation with Beth Dodd, curator of the Drury B. Alexander Architectural Archives at The University of Texas at Austin. A search was made of other repositories including the Library at the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The Works Progress Administration undertook an inventory of county records during the Depression. On deposit at The Center for the Study of American History at The University of Texas at Austin, these records often contain sketches of the plans of courthouses. Unfortunately, none exist for Dimmit County. Interviews with long-time residents of Carrizo Springs indicate that very few changes in room assignment have occurred over the years.⁴⁷ The main county offices are located on the ground floor with the district courtroom located at the north end of the second floor. Additional offices for the district clerk, county attorney, and district judge occupy the rest of the second floor.

Henry Truman Phelps (1871-1944) also designed numerous other courthouses around the state. Phelps was born in Anaqua, Texas, the son of Edwin and Mary Jane Phelps. By 1891, he was in San Antonio working as a draftsman in various architectural offices. He served in the Spanish-American War in the 1st Texas Volunteer Cavalry. Soon after his return to San Antonio, he opened his own office with Solon McAdoo in 1902. Phelps’ partnerships rarely lasted very long, however, as he was on his own in 1903 and a later partnership with D.R. Jacob also lasted only a year (1909-1910).⁴⁸ Among his work in San Antonio are designs for the Kampmann House (1922), the J.M. Nix House (1923), and the Nix Professional Building (1929). He was a member of the San Antonio Club, the International Club, the Texas Society of Architects, and director of the San Antonio Municipal Airport in the 1930s. He died of a heart attack in 1944.⁴⁹

Phelps designed numerous county courthouses throughout Texas during the first three decades of the 20th century. His first design, the Frio County Courthouse in Pearsall (1904), utilized a classical plan with simplified Romanesque detailing. His early, classical inspired designs included the courthouses at Mills County in Goldthwaite (1913), Jim Hogg County in Hebbronville (1913), and Blanco County Courthouse in Johnson City (1916). The courthouses he designed during the 1920s featured rectangular plans with strong classical design elements including colossal orders and triangular pediments (in which is often inserted a clock). The Dimmit County Courthouse is typical of Phelps’ other designs from the 1920s including those for the Uvalde County Courthouse (1927) and the San Patricio County Courthouse (1928), although the courthouses at Kenedy County in Sarita (1921) and Schleicher County in Eldorado (1924) utilize a square plan. By the late 1920s, however, Phelps designed courthouses in the Art Moderne style. The classicallyderived, rectangular plans of the courthouses at Kimble County in Junction (1929) and La Salle County in Cotulla (1931) were similar to the earlier courthouses but the application of a reductive ornamental vocabulary represented the expression of a new era.

The reincarnated Dimmit County Courthouse continued to serve as the center of the new community, as well as the focus of the county’s political arena. Before the dramatic increase in the pace of urbanization in Texas following World War II, county courthouses represented a citizen’s most direct chance to interact with government in the state. As the seat of district and county courts, the county courthouse provided the setting in which people resolved their differences and filed their most precious documents, including the titles to their land, wills, probate documents and marriage certificates. The theater of Commissioners Court provided a measure of entertainment for citizens as well as direct participation in deciding the weighty issues of the day. For many years, many important community events took place on the grounds of the County Courthouse including activities associated with the annual Strawberry Festival. In 1930, over 15,000 people attended the Strawberry Festival and Governor Moody attended the festivities.⁵⁰ The same year, the county celebrated its centennial by meeting in the courthouse with the first county surveyor, Mel McCaleb, as the special speaker.⁵¹ During the late 1930s and 1940s when radio transmissions were difficult to receive in the area, Red Bailey (a local radio broadcaster) would broadcast the Grand Ol’ Opry on Saturday nights at the courthouse, and people would dance on the courthouse lawn.⁵² As late as 1948, the Future Farmers of America would auction the prize winning animals on the courthouse lawn rather than at the county’s agricultural barn.⁵³

Few changes were made to the Dimmit County Courthouse since its completion in 1927. Indeed, the lack of maintenance over the years has become one of the largest problems facing the future preservation of the building. In 1936, the county judge was authorized to secure bids for repairing a leak, but subsequent minutes make no mention of the repair taking place.⁵⁴ In 1940, mention is made of having the cornice repaired and water-proofed. Throughout the 1950s, however, very little was done to the courthouse beyond some painting and the installation of window-mounted air conditioning units.⁵⁵ It was not until 1960 that any major changes were made to the courthouse, at which time a terrazzo floor was laid on the ground floor and all exterior doors were replaced with modern glass and aluminum entries.⁵⁶ In 1982, the roof was repaired which may have contributed to the future failure of the cornice. Since the early 1990s, the Dimmit County Commissioners Court has struggled to bring the building into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act which required the installation of a new elevator in the main hallway.

The Dimmit County Courthouse retains all of its character defining Classical Revival elements and all of the features that illustrate its style in terms of the massing, spatial relationships, proportion, pattern of windows and doors, texture of materials, and ornamentation. The only changes to the exterior since 1926 is the replacement of the original doors with glass and aluminum doors. In 1995, a large section of the building’s cornice fell to the ground, necessitating a structural inspection of the building. Dimmit County received a grant from the Preservation Trust Fund, administered by the Texas Historical Commission, in 1997 for the repair of its cornice. The current Dimmit County Commissioners Court is working to ensure the future preservation of their courthouse by initiating a full-scale restoration of the building.

Historic Designations

1984 National Register of Historic Places
1992 State Archeological Landmark
2000 Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (application pending)

Deed Covenants

1999 Deed covenant requiring all future work to the courthouse building and the courthouse square must
first meet the approval of the Texas Historical Commission and be in compliance with The Secretary of the
Interior’s Standards for Rehabilitation. In addition, the county agrees to maintain the courthouse building to
its condition at the time of completion of a 1997 grant from the Preservation Trust Fund as administered by
the Texas Historical Commission. The deed covenant expires January 1, 2010 (see appendix for complete
text of deed covenant).

Courthouses by Alfred Giles

1881    Gillespie County, Fredericksburg (now the Pioneer Memorial Library)
1883    Bexar County Courthouse (major remodeling, now demolished)
1883    Guadalupe County, Seguin (demolished 1935)
1884    Wilson County, Floresville
1885    Kerr County, Kerrville (demolished 1926)
1885    Kimble County, Junction (demolished 1929)
1886    El Paso County, El Paso (demolished)
1894    Goliad County, Goliad (attributed)
1894    Caldwell County, Lockhart (attributed)
1909    Webb County, Laredo
1909    Kendall County, Boerne (addition)
1914    Brooks County, Falfurias (attributed)
1919    Live Oak County, George West

Susan Dickey and Willard Robinson also attribute the following to Giles:

Llano County, Llano (1884)
Presidio County, Marfa (1886)

Courthouses by Henry Truman Phelps

1904    Frio County, Pearsall (altered 1937 and 1950)
1912    Atascosa County, Jourdanton
1912    Jim Hogg County, Hebbronville
1913    Mills County, Goldthwaite
1916    Blanco County, Johnson City
1921    Kenedy County, Sarita
1924    Schleicher County, Eldorado
1926    Dimmit County, Carrizo Springs (major remodeling)
1927    Uvalde County, Uvalde
1928    San Patricio County, Sinton
1929    Kimble County, Junction
1931    La Salle County, Cotulla

¹ John Leffler, “Dimmit County,” in The New Handbook of Texas (Austin: State Historical Association),
vol. 2, 646.
² Laura Tidwell, Dimmit County Mesquite Roots (Austin: Wind River Press, 1984).
³ U.S. Census Records of 1870, 1880 and 1890, (Washington DC: US Government).
⁴ John Leffler, “Dimmit County,” in The New Handbook of Texas, 646.
⁵ Dimmit County Deed Records (1880), Book 1, pages 13-18.
⁶ Other elected officials included County Attorney F. Vandervoort, Sheriff Joseph Tumlinson, Justice of the Peace J.R. Sweeten, County Treasurer J.B. Gibson, and Tax Assessor R.G. Mason. See Crystal Williams, History of Dimmit County (MA thesis, Sul Ross University, 1959) 18.
⁷ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 1.
⁸ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 133 and “Alfred Giles Returned from Carrizo Springs,” San Antonio Express (November 13, 1883).
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 139.
¹¹ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, pages 141-142.
¹² Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 143.
¹³ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 190.
¹⁴ Only three images of the 1884 courthouse survive. None of the original photographs have survived.
¹⁵ Interviews with (1) Verner Bell, grandson of Peter Bell who served as Justice of the Peace, Deputy Sheriff, and custodian for the courthouse, and (2) Eunice Lansford, 96 years of age, a member of the Dimmit County Historical Commission.
¹⁶ The amount of savings is based on the lowest bid made on Giles’ design (a difference of $2,410).
¹⁷ Whereas Giles claimed a fee of $679, Breeding and Sons charged the county $685.66. See Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, pages 180, 190 and 192-193.
¹⁸ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, p. 158.
¹⁹ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 190.
²⁰ Virtually nothing is known about J.C. Breeding and Son of San Antonio except for what appears in listings in the city directories. They practiced in the then common role of architect/contractor when few architects in Texas received professional design training.
²¹ Numerous repositories were searched for plans of the 1884 courthouse including: the Drury B. Alexander Architectural Archives at the University of Texas at Austin; the Center for American History at the University of Texas at Austin; the Daughters of the Republic of Texas Library; and the historical records of Dimmit County (including the attic). In addition, a search of published sources including old newspapers and books turned up no results. Very few of Giles’ drawings have survived, most of them copies of originals.
²² Giles sued for the full sum owed him in the amount of $679. See Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, pages 192-193.
²³ The Carrizo Springs Javelin was established only in 1884 and the earliest issues do not survive in any repository. Other newspapers in the general area were researched, but to no avail.
²⁴ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (June 6, 1899 and Aug. 18, 1899).
²⁵ Crystal Williams, The History of Dimmit County, p. 19.
²⁶ See “Courthouse Timeline” for specific mention of these features in the County Commissioners Minutes.
²⁷ The Javelin (Nov. 28, 1913) Page 15
²⁸ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (May 2, 1914).
²⁹ They were charged a fee of $5 per quarter. See Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes, Book 1, page 186.
³⁰ Crystal Williams, History of Dimmit County, p.20.
³¹ Crystal Williams, History of Dimmit County, p.20.
³² Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (Aug. 16, 1899).
³³ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (Feb. 9, 1904 and Nov. 15, 1904).
³⁴ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (May 9. 1910). There is no mention in the minutes of the city vacating the space. A permanent City Hall was constructed in 1934 at the corner of Pena and 4th streets.
³⁵ Laura Tidwell, Dimmit County Mesquite Roots (Austin: Wind River Press, 1984) p. 173.
³⁶ Crystal Williams, History of Dimmit County, p.19.
³⁷ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (June 10, 1916).
³⁸ The Javelin (June 7, 1913).
³⁹ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (December 13, 1915 and Jan. 8, 1919).
⁴⁰ John Leffler, “Dimmit County,” in The New Handbook of Texas, 646.
⁴¹ San Antonio Express (July 4, 1924).
⁴² Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (Dec. 22, 1925 and Feb. 8, 1926).
⁴³ See “Courthouse Timeline”, following page, for all mentions of change orders in the Dimmit County Commissioners Court minutes.
⁴⁴ The Javelin (September 28, 1926).
⁴⁵ Laura Tidwell, Dimmit County Mesquite Roots (Austin: Wind River Press, 1984) p. 187.
⁴⁶ Crystal Williams, History of Dimmit County, p.20.
⁴⁷ Interviews with (1) Verner Bell, grandson of Peter Bell who served as Justice of the Peace, Deputy Sheriff,
and custodian for the courthouse (2) Eunice Lansford, 96 years of age, a member of the Dimmit County
Historical Commission, and (3) County Judge Charles Johnson, whose father also served as county judge.
⁴⁸ Christopher Long, “Henry Truman Phelps,” in The New Handbook of Texas (Austin: Texas State Historical Association), p.180.
⁴⁹ Architect’s Biographical File, the Drury B. Alexander Architectural Archive, the University of Texas at Austin.
⁵⁰ Laura Tidwell, ed. Dimmit County: The First 100 Years. Carrizo Springs: The Carrizo Springs Javelin (souvenir edition of The Javelin, 1980) p. 8.
⁵¹ Laura Tidwell, ed. Dimmit County: The First 100 Years., Carrizo Springs: The Carrizo Springs Javelin (souvenir edition of The Javelin, 1980) p. 8.
⁵² Interview with Nelda Powell, January 6, 2000.
⁵³ Interview with Nelda Powell, January 6, 2000.
⁵⁴ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (Sept. 22, 1936).
⁵⁵ See “Courthouse Timeline” following page, for all entries relating to minor courthouse repairs.
⁵⁶ Dimmit County Commissioners Court Minutes (Feb. 8 and Sept. 12, 1960; May 22 and June 12, 1961).

Please note: The bibliographical references for the above endnotes may be found in the “Bibliography” located
within the Appendix of the Master Plan for the Dimmit County Courthouse, Volume II.

[Master Plan] [Introduction] Development [Timeline] [Existing Conditions] [Recommendations] [Bibliography]