Resources & Links

Texas Historical Resources
Links to Other Texas Courthouse Photo Websites
Books & Publications
Other Useful Links




Texas Historical Resources

Texas Historical Commission Website
The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.

Texas Historical Commission Courthouse Preservation Program
At least 30 courthouses have been rededicated following renovations or complete restorations funded in large part by the State of Texas through the THC. Many more restorations are ongoing with applications being considered for many more.

Texas Heritage Trails - by the Texas Historical Commission
A series of 10 Heritage trails in throughout the State of Texas. Each themed trail has its own web site and feature sites and itineraries of historical interest . The Texas Heritage Trails Program (THTP) is based around 10 scenic driving trails created in 1968 by Gov. John Connally and the Texas Highway Department.

Brazos Trail Forts Trail Forest Trail
Lakes Trail Hill Country Trail Independence Trail
Mountain Trail Pecos Trail Plains Trail
  Tropical Trail  

Texas Historical Commission Historic Sites by County Search
This is a great resource for information on historic sites on a county by county basis. Historical photos of many long gone courthouses can be found within the individual courthouse pages.

The Handbook of Texas Online
The Handbook of Texas Online is a multidisciplinary encyclopedia of Texas history, geography, and culture sponsored by the Texas State Historical Association and the General Libraries at UT Austin.

T E X A S G E N E A L O G Y - The TXGenWeb Project
Many vintage photographs of Texas people, places and things from as early as the 1850's can be found in many of the individual county pages within the TXGenWeb Project. Even if you don't have Texas "roots", the histories can be very interesting.

The TXGenWeb Project - Vintage Courthouse Postcard pages
Hundreds of vintage postcards of Texas courthouses, cities and points of interest can be found in this most enjoyable section of the TXGenWeb website.



Links to Other Texas Courthouse Photo Websites

TexasCourthouses.com
Brett Cameron & Ted Lerich's site is perhaps the most complete collection of all 254 Texas county courthouses on the web at this time. Includes a good mix of photos of retired courthouses and links to the TSHA's county histories.

Courthouse of Texas in 3D
3Dphoto.net's collection of about 20 courthouses shot in 3D.

Texas Escapes.com
Some of the photography is their own, with lots more from others… however this is a very informative site with a lot of historical photos including the 1940's TxDOT collection. Also included are some very informative "in depth" articles on some of the courthouses. .



Books & Publications
We have found that Amazon.com and Ebay are the best resources for many of these titles.

The Courthouses of Texas - A Guide by Mavis P. Kelsey, Sr., and Donald H. Dyal
Texas A&M University Press - 1992 - Second Printing 2000 - Updated 2007
This book is a guide that includes a photo, addresses, short descriptions and notes about all of the 254 county courthouses of Texas. This is the first resource to buy if you want to go "courthouseing".

The People's Architecture - Texas Courthouses, Jails, and Municipal Buildings by Willard B. Robinson
©1983 - Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
A tremendous resource with a heavy emphasis on historic Texas County Courthouses. Some of the photos are of buildings no longer in existence.

Gone from Texas: Our Lost Architectural Heritage - Willard B. Robinson
As the title suggests this volume focuses entirely on historic buildings that no longer exist. Many courthouses are featured. The original 1981 hard cover edition is hard to find but worth looking for. As an alternate, go for the 1998 paperback edition.

The Texas Courthouse by June Rayfield Welch, J. Larry Nance
Published in 1971 and updated for a 2nd printing in 1981. A photo and description of each courthouse is included. This volume is another "must have" for the serious Texas county courthouse fanatic.

The Courthouse Square in Texas by Kenneth E. Foote
©2000, This illustrated 244-page volume focuses as much on the courthouse square as it does the courthouses. The author claims this volume to be the first complete inventory of Texas courthouse squares. Available in hard or soft cover... in our opinion the soft cover version is just as good.

Old Friends: Great Texas Courthouses by Bill Morgan
12" X 19", full color, hard-cover, coffee-table format book containing 71 marker, pencil and ink artistic renditions of some of Texas' finest courthouses.

Texas Justice: The Legacy of Historical Courthouses
Texas Justice unveils nearly 100 of Texas’ 254 county courthouses, of which 234 have the distinction of being a Historical Courthouse; and 84 of these Historic Courthouses have the double crown of being a National Register Property.

Texas Almanac - ©2006 - Published by the Dallas Morning News
Very complete reference to the Texas of the 21st century. The almanac includes individual articles with a brief history of each county along with current demographic information and a very usable map of the county.

The Roads of Texas - Published by Mapsco of Addison, Texas
A 176-page plus cover, large format road atlas of Texas. This atlas does a particularly fine job of listing historic sites and points of interest throughout the counties.

Texas Atlas & Gazetteer - DeLorme
A 168-page plus cover, large format road atlas of Texas. This atlas has better individual city maps that also list the location of the county courthouse.


Other Useful Links

NOAA Graphical Weather Forcasts
We find the NOAA sky cover graphical forcasts most helpful in choosing routes to avoid those pesky overcast skys.



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