1890 Cornerstone Ceremony
Columbus, Colorado County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The building of the Colorado County Courthouse began with a public celebration July 7, 1890. About 3,000 people attended a barbecue in a grove north of town. They later marched to the Courthouse Square in a procession led by a local marching band. Members of Caledonia Lodge No. 68, A. F. & A. M. laid the cornerstone with Masonic ceremonies. Following the ceremony the crowd gathered together for a return procession to the grove. Later that evening a grand ball was held at the Stafford Opera House. The new Courthouse was completed in February 1891. (1990)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In July 1890, the small Texas town of Columbus threw itself a party. Some 3,000 people gathered for a barbecue in a grove north of town, then marched behind a brass band to the square where the Caledonia Masonic Lodge laid the cornerstone of a new Colorado County Courthouse. The day ended with a grand ball at the Stafford Opera House, and the courthouse itself was finished the following February.
Why it matters
The elaborate cornerstone ceremony captures how a Gilded Age county seat used its courthouse as a symbol of permanence and civic pride on the settling Texas landscape.
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Related events
- · Colorado County Courthouse cornerstone ceremony, 1890
Themes & tags
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