Architect: J. Riely Gordon.
Year Built: 1892.
The Victoria County Courthouse is located in Victoria, Texas.
Designed by the architectural firm of Gordon & Laub, this classic Texas courthouse was the result of the Victoria County Commissioner’s Court decision to replace the old, 1849 courthouse. J. Riely Gordon’s firm was awarded the contract and work began in late 1891 by the contractor Martin Byrnes & Johnson. The completed courthouse was inspected by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner, on behalf of Victoria County. “Heiner declared ‘that Victoria county has one of the best court houses in Texas and that Martin, Byrnes & Johnson carried out their contract to the letter – and did even more.’ The building was accepted on December 17, 1892.” (James Riely Gordon, His Courthouses and Other Public Architecture, Chris Meister, Texas Tech University Press, 2011, page 88.)
The Victoria courthouse is often compared to the Fayette County courthouse of 1890-91 by J. Riely Gordon. “In addition to their designer and builder, the Fayette and Victoria courthouses have a number of properties in common. They share the same hollow square design with interior court and paired pavilion facades with central entrances. Both have a tower designating the eastern facade as the primary one.” (ibid, page 84)
The 1892 courthouse is now an annex to the adjacent 1967 courthouse.
Source: 254TexasCourthouse.net
