Culberson County's Loss--A look at the Old Courthouse

Culberson County Courthouse, Postcard, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14007/ : accessed March 20, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas. 

 

The folks in Van Horn regret a decision made decades ago, the demolition of the Culberson County Courthouse for a new building.  Robert Morales, the publisher of the Van Horn Advocate has been reporting on the loss.  (See an excellent article here.)

(Click on the photo for a closer view!)
Frances Hurt Walker at Culberson County Courthouse, Photograph, n.d.; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14104/ : accessed March 20, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas. 

 

The courthouse was a center of the community and the location for many important events in the Van Horn area.

Centennial Pioneers Dance at Culberson County Courthouse, 1936, Photograph, 1936; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14149/ : accessed March 20, 2014), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas. 

Missing What is Now Gone, the Culberson County Courthouse

Culberson County Courthouse, Postcard, n.d.; digital image,
(http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14007/),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History,
http://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas.

Sometimes, perhaps often, a community regrets taking down a building for "progress."  Over and over in Van Horn, we hear such regret from the people of Van Horn about their Culberson County Courthouse.  It wasn't the first courthouse for the county; some feel the Clark Hotel Museum building was the original courthouse.  But it was the courthouse that stood from 1912 to the 1960s, when it was torn down to make way for the current building.

As is the case with many Texas courthouses, it was a center of activity for the community.  (Click on any of the images for a closer view.)

Centennial Pioneers Dance at Culberson County Courthouse, 1936,
Photograph, 1936; digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14149/),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History,
http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas
Click on the photo for a closer view!

Order of the Rainbow for Girls, Photograph, n.d.;
digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14281/ ),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History,
http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas.
. L to R, Rosetta O'Nan, Rose Chapel, Mrs. Grace Breed (Mother Adviser),
Linda Mitchell (Worthy Adviser), Minnie Henderson, Barbara Binkley

Frances Hurt Walker at Culberson County
Courthouse, Photograph, n.d.; digital image,
(http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14104/),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History,
http://texashistory.unt.edu;
crediting Clark Hotel Museum, Van Horn, Texas.

Demolition of Courthouse, Photograph, 1967;
digital image, (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth14017/ ),
University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History,
http://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Clark Hotel Museum,
Van Horn, Texas.