During the San Antonio trip on Christmas Eve my daughter and I drove to Boerne (pronounced Bernie) just 30 miles north of San Antonio to visit a cousin who recently moved to this charming little town. Although it wasn't originally on my must-have photographs list of Texas courthouses, we found this jewel and I couldn't resist. I didn't even have my camera with me (What, you say? I had left it in my car while we rode with my cousin on a quick trip around town, so I was able to get this photo with my iPhone). This is the restored old courthouses but the new one looks very similar, being constructed from the same type of materials in a complimentary architectural style. For some reason I didn't bother taking a picture of the new one and I should have. But it was Christmas Eve and I didn't want to impose on my relatives' holiday time with children and grandchildren and I was in somewhat of a rush because we had planned to drive on further to another historic town in the area. It's such a charming place that I know I'll return and hopefully will be able to spend some more time in this quaint little town settled by German immigrants in the 1840s. Both the town and the county have one of Texas' richest histories.
The old courthouse was originally constructed in 1870 and is the second oldest courthouse in Texas in continuous use since its construction, which leads me to believe that it still houses active county offices. It experienced a series of expansions in its 145-year history, including the addition of the front facade in 1909, thus explaining the 1909 date shown in the photo. The interior was restored and the building rededicated in 2010.
Boerne has a population of 10,500. It is 225 miles west of Houston, 300 miles south of Dallas, 340 miles southwest of my home, and 90 miles south of Baby Head.
10 comments:
The stonework is beautiful. Great background info as usual, Kathy!
neat looking building - still clean looking and upkept. :) thanks for the pronunciation of that town name!
Your iPhone did a great job. This is a gorgeous building.
It's a grand looking old building. I'm glad you got a quick shot of it, it turned out nice.
Baby Head... now that is some unique name for a town.
I love Boerne and all the hill country towns. Just bought a new Toyota there at Thanksgiving time. Used to have cousins who were overseers of a ranch outside of town.
Quite a history in that old building. Your iPhone took a wonderful picture. It was thoughtful of you to include the phonetic spelling of the town also. Thanks Kathy, I enjoyed this. Have a great week :)
I think your iPhone is amazing!
Boerne sounds like a great place to revisit. I NEVER think of Texas as having been settled by Germans!
Glad to see that the new one will be similar. Nothing worse that a new modern building in among beautiful old treasures.
It is indeed a jewel, Kathy! Love the white of the stone!
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