Jack County Courthouse – Jacksboro TX

Description

The Jack County Courthouse was designed in 1939 by Wichita Falls firm Voelker and Dixon. The county applied for a grant in 1938 from the Federal Works Agency and received approximately half of the funding from the PWA, the rest of which had to be provided locally. Voelker and Dixon designed a number of courthouses and other buildings for Texas. The buidiling was completed in a “Modern Classical Style” which includes elements of Art Moderne and Art Deco, both popular at the time, with classical elements such as the pilasters (Smith, 2012).

The three-story building (with an additional story in the basement) is built of “cast-in-place concrete” and the exterior is made of Texas limestone, with marble spandrels (Smith). Smith indicates the building is unique in that it retains the majority of its original fixtures, including the light fixtures, moldings, flooring, and other details.

The exterior features low-relief carvings and bronze doors. The interior features the terrazzo floor with a 1939 map inlaid in the floor at the entrance to the building, marble foyer walls, and original wood paneling and benches in the courtroom.

A plaque indicating the work as a project of the Federal Works Agency is in the interior.

The building underwent extensive renovation and restoration in 2011-2012, and is currently listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Among other restoration, the black marble spandrels were restored, after having been painted with gray latex during the 1980s.