Site of 1896 Van Zandt County Courthouse
Canton, Van Zandt County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1894, the Van Zandt County Commissioners Court approved construction of a new brick courthouse at this site. Built between 1894 and 1896, it replaced a frame courthouse that had served the county since shortly after the Civil War. The noted San Antonio Architect J. Riely Gordon designed the 1896 courthouse in the Richardsonian Romanesque style. Built on a Greek cross plan, it features a three-story main structure and a six-story central tower with a copper eagle statue at the top. The building was torn down in the 1930s. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Approved in 1894, this brick courthouse replaced a plain frame building that had served Van Zandt County since just after the Civil War. Designed by the celebrated San Antonio architect J. Riely Gordon in his signature Richardsonian Romanesque style, it rose on a Greek-cross plan with a soaring six-story tower crowned by a copper eagle. The grand structure stood only into the 1930s before being demolished.
Why it matters
The ornate county courthouse was the proudest civic statement of Gilded Age Texas, and J. Riely Gordon's towered designs became iconic symbols of local government across the state.
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Related people
- · J. Riely Gordon
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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