Falls County Courthouse

Falls County was created by the Texas legislature in 1850. Its first courthouse was a log cabin, possibly on this site. In 1855 the county seat, then Adams, was renamed Marlin, and construction was completed on what became the courthouse square. A second courthouse built of native white cedar burned about 1870. A third courthouse was completed by 1876 but was damaged in an 1886 storm. Houston architect Eugene Heiner designed a fourth courthouse, completed in 1888, but it deteriorated quickly and county officials began seeking funds for a new building. Work began on a fifth courthouse in 1938, financed by a $130,000 county bond issue matched with a 45% Public Works Administration grant. The cornerstone was leveled by the Grand Lodge of Texas, A. F. & A. M., on July 4, 1939, and the building was completed by December. Designed in the Art Moderne style by Dallas architect Arthur E. Thomas and constructed by San Antonio contractors Hill and Combs, it features a façade of Austin shellstone, entry steps of Texas pink granite, a symmetrical front dominated by a three-story central entry tower with key pattern stonework across the parapet, massive shellstone entry surrounds, and decorative corner pilasters. Thomas also designed other notable Texas buildings from the late 1930s to 1970, including other courthouses and projects for the Marlin Independent School District. The 1939 Falls County courthouse continues to serve as the center of county government.

Marlin, Texas · United States