McCulloch County Courthouse
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = McCulloch County Courthouse
| nrhp_type =
| image = Mcculloch_county_courthouse_2010.jpg
| caption = McCulloch County Courthouse in 2010
| location = Public Square
Brady, Texas
| coordinates = {{coord|31|9|6|N|99|20|5|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Texas#USA
| map_label = McCulloch County Courthouse
| locmap_relief = yes
| built = {{Start date|1899}}
| architect = Martin & Moodie
| architecture = Richardsonian Romanesque
| added = December 16, 1977
| area = {{convert|2|acre}}
| refnum =77001515{{NRISref|version=2010a}}
| designated_other1=TSAL
| designated_other1_date=May 28, 1981
| designated_other1_number=[http://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/8200000469 469]
| designated_other1_num_position=bottom
| designated_other2=RTHL
| designated_other2_date=1967
| designated_other2_number=[http://atlas.thc.texas.gov/Details/5307003286 3286]
| designated_other2_num_position=bottom
}}
The McCulloch County Courthouse is located in Brady, McCulloch County, in the U.S. state of Texas. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in McCulloch County, Texas in 1977, and became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1967.{{cite web|title=RTHL McCulloch County Courthouse|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=5307003286&site_name=McCulloch+County+Courthouse&class=5000|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=22 September 2011}}
History
This is the second courthouse to serve McCulloch County. The first county building was erected in 1879. The current courthouse was completed in 1900, and the datestone was laid by the Brady Lodge of the Freemasons on September 29, 1899. Martin & Moodie of Comanche are listed as the builders, with no separate name for an architect.{{cite web|title=TE McCullough courthouse|url=http://www.texasescapes.com/TOWNS/BradyTexas/Brady-Texas-McCulloch-County-Courthouse.htm|work=Texas Escapes|publisher=Blueprints For Travel, LLC.|accessdate=22 September 2011}} When the decision was made in 1899 to erect a new courthouse, Martin & Moodie submitted their proposal and were awarded the contract.{{cite web|title=NRHP McCullouch County Courthouse|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2077001515&site_name=McCulloch+County+Courthouse&class=2001|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=22 September 2011}} The new three-story sandstone courthouse was in the Richardson Romanesque style, and bears some semblance to the style of architect James Riely Gordon.{{cite book|last=Henry|first=Jay C|title=Architecture in Texas, 1895–1945|year=1993|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-73072-4|pages=17–19}} While the clock tower has areas designed for a clock on each of the four sides, no clock is installed. The courthouse underwent a renovation in 2009, part of which gave the structure a red roof. In both 1936 and 1938, Brady Creek (San Saba River) overflowed its banks and caused flooding in and around the courthouse.{{cite book|last=Burnett|first=Jonathan|title=Flash Floods in Texas|year=2008|publisher=TAMU Press|isbn=978-1-58544-590-5|pages=123}}
Heart of Texas monument
In 1963, the Texas Historical Commission designated the geographical center of Texas as being located {{convert|5|mi}} northwest of Brady.{{cite web|title=THC Geographic Center of Texas|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=5307002146&site_name=Geographic+Center+of+Texas&class=5000|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=22 September 2011}} On the courthouse grounds is a Heart of Texas granite marker designed by Earl V. Finlay. The actual carving and inscription were done in 1958 by Brady native son Gary Bryson. Funding for the {{convert|7|ft|6|in|m}} monument was provided by the Brady Chamber of Commerce and the McCulloch County Commissioners' Court.{{cite book|last=Little|first=Carol Morris|title=A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas|year=1996|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=978-0-292-76036-3|page=100}}
See also
{{Portal|National Register of Historic Places|Texas}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Commonscat-inline}}
{{National Register of Historic Places in Texas}}
{{McCulloch County, Texas}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCulloch County Courthouse}}
Category:Buildings and structures in McCulloch County, Texas
Category:County courthouses in Texas
Category:Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks
Category:Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas
Category:Government buildings completed in 1900
Category:Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Texas
Category:National Register of Historic Places in McCulloch County, Texas