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Photo Courtesy of Texas Highways
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Welcome to Texas Genealogy
Trails!
*Volunteers dedicated
to putting free data online.*
Fayette County Website is available for adoption.
If interested in joining our group, view our Volunteer
Information Page and contact
Kim.
[Basic webpage design
knowledge and a desire to transcribe data is required]
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Fayette County is a county located
in the U.S. state of Texas.. Its county seat is La Grange. .The Second
Congress of the Republic of Texas authorized the organization of Fayette
County on December 14, 1837"The petition presented by Judge James
Lester, Andrew Rabb, and John Moore, requested that the district near
the dividing line between the counties of Bastrop and Colorado be formed
into a county to be know as Fayette in honor of the Marquis de La
Fayette, who had so materially aided the American Colonist earlier in
their struggle for independence".
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About 1890, the structural safety of
Fayette County's third courthouse came into question, and plans began
for the building of this structure to serve as the seat of justice for
the county. The commissioners court hired San Antonio architect James
Riely Gordon (1863-1937) to design the new courthouse and oversee the
construction. Gordon, who was 27 years old at the time, went on to
become a noted architect of public buildings in Texas. Funding for the
1890-91 courthouse came from the sale of $90,000 in bonds. Martin,
Byrnes and Johnston of Colorado City served as building contractors.
Gordon designed the courthouse in the Romanesque Revival style and
specified four types of native Texas stone to detail the exterior: Blue
Muldoon sandstone, Belton White limestone, Pecos Red sandstone and Pink
Burnet granite. A central open atrium, designed to promote good lighting
and natural ventilation, highlighted the interior space. The extensive
use of stone, along with the massive arched windows and doorways,
exemplify the building's Romanesque Revival influences. The oldest
existing J. Riely Gordon courthouse in Texas, the Fayette County
courthouse was completed in 1891. It has served as a setting for social
events, celebrations, courtroom dramas and political oratory, and
continues as a center of politics and government for the county.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2001"
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