I discovered one of the prettiest little courthouses in Texas on my Central Texas tour in June. It's another jewel designed by J. Riely Gordon, the master courthouse architect, and was built in 1897, replacing an earlier structure which of course was destroyed by fire, as so many original buildings were. Unlike his usual Victorian stone designs, Gordon chose red brick and a Romanesque Revival style for this one. It sits a block from the main street in Giddings on a small knoll, placed with just a bit of prominence to make it a commanding presence in town.
Lee County was named after General Robert E. Lee, and the county seat of Giddings is a little town of 6,000 residents 55 miles east of Austin. Lee County is home to several towns with most interesting names, including Blue, Beaukiss, Dime Box, and Old Dime Box. Tomorrow I'll show you a couple other interesting places I found in Giddings. Hopefully, that is. My mother has been suffering with rapidly progressive dementia and life has been a challenge. I spend most of my time these days caring for her and keeping her safe. If any of you have any good reading material for taking care of elderly parents with failing mental capacities, please let me know.
12 comments:
i am sorry for your struggles with caring for your mother. i know it cannot be easy. my sisters went through it.
regarding the courthouse, i feel like i've just met the belle of the ball. she just came down the stairs wearing the grandest of hoop skirts and all eyes are on her. :)
Sorry to hear about your mom. Your in my thoughts. Wonderful courthouse.
Lets repeat Tex's charming words for the courthouse. Its a beauty!
Sorry to hear about your mother.It makes me think of the book, The 48 hour Day, which I am sure this is like to you. Other than an institution, I can't imagine what could keep her safe 24/7. We'll keep you both in our prayers.
Jo
Kathy, I am sorry about your mom's health. I know how tough this is, as my mom had Alzheimer's, and it was indeed a difficult road, to say the least.
Although I was not/am not much into support groups, I was at my wit's end, and joined a caregiver's group. It was the best thing I could have done. Not only was I spending much needed time with people who were going through the same thing, but they were an invaluable source of information.
Oh dear, Kathy! My family just went through dementia with my mother-in-law. I will definitely be thinking of you, sending you positive thoughts.
I hope you have others helping you out a bit. 24/7 is way too much for one person.
I'm so glad you were able to get away in June to search out wonderful photos such as this one.
this is truly a grand old lady.. so beautiful.
sorry to hear about your mother. Daddy had dementia and Parkinson's, so i can relate. he got to bad to keep at home and it was a horror the 9 months he was in a nursing home, not for him for us. he did not know he was there, but we did.
For such a small place, they have one of the most grand courthouses I have seen. I could get lost inside there.
My thoughts are with you and your mother as you face the trying days ahead.
I think this might be the cutest courthouse you've posted. I love it.
So sorry to hear about your mother. My thoughts are with you.
Fantastic building!
OK...Giddings! Before I go there...I wanted to say that I hope the church that has a sale pending will be bought by someone or someONES who will love it and care for it. The architecture of all these churches is amazing!
I don't know if you remember about me telling you I used to live near Giddings and I hoped you would get down that way some time to take a photo of the courthouse there. Well, you did, and it just thrilled me to see that you had added this one to your collection! This is a stunning courthouse...I was always so amazed at all the beautiful courthouses in TX. The one in LaGrange, I think is amazing too. If in your travels, you drove through Carmine (a wide place in the road on Hwy 10) that town was originally spelled Carmean (and is still pronounced that way) for the man who established it. But, because mail was getting mixed up with Cameron, TX they changed the spelling...quite an affront to us, when we learned of this...Carmean is OUR last name! :-)We lived less than three miles from the little town the five and a half years we were there.
What an amazing place.
Just got back from a trip of my own and I saw a lot of courthouses but nothing as ornate as this one.
Keeping you in my thoughts.
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