Fayette County Courthouse (Texas No. 38)

The Fayette County Courthouse in La Grange  is another masterpiece of architect J. Reily Gordon, Texas' most notable designer of courthouses.  Built in 1891 at a cost of $96,000 this beauty was refurbished in 2004.  The Romanesque Revival style building was constructed of four native stones, Belton white limestone, blue sandstone quarried at nearby Muldoon, Red Pecos sandstone for the decorative horizontal mouldings, and pink Burnet granite which was used in the columns.  Gordon designed 18 Texas courthouses.  In 1984 12 were still standing and 10 were still serving their original purpose.  His most important structure built outside of Texas is the Arizona State Capitol, designed for the territorial government in 1898.

Fayette County was named after the Marquis de la Fayette, the French nobleman who became an American Revolutionary War hero, and the county seat of La Grange was named after his French estate in France.  "La Grange" translates as "The Meadows."

I had read that there were gargoyles on the courthouse and to be sure to look for them under the clock tower.  I couldn't see them with the naked eye and I used my little Nikon 42X zoom camera to take a super closeup directly under the clock but unfortunately there were no gargoyles in sight.  I discovered by zooming in on some of the photos later on my computer that the gargoyles - more correctly, griffins - can be found at the first horizontal bar under the clock on the tower.  You will see one's head and neck protruding almost like a small apostrophe on the left.  Unfortunately, I was too far away to be able to see any detail even with very close cropping.  Hopefully one day I'll return to La Grange and I'll know where to look for a photo!  I hope to return to this area to photograph more courthouses and also the Painted Churches of Central Texas (more on those gems later).

This photo shows the pink Burnet granite columns quite well.  If you'll look back at the previous photo, you should be able to spot the griffin in the next section below these columns  There are four of these creatures on each of the corners of the tower and I believe they are all different.

Fayette County and the surrounding area was a major site of German and Czech settlement because the rolling hills and forests are reminiscent of their homelands.  Even today the German and Czech influences on the area remain strong.

Outside La Grange is the location of the real Chicken Ranch, which was the inspiration for the hit stage musical play in 1979 - as well as the 1982 movie - The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

La Grange is located about halfway between Houston and Austin and has a population of nearly 5,000.