Wise County Courthouse Restoration

Proud to see our courthouse featured in Texas Highways Magazine!

After the Hill County Courthouse in Hillsboro caught on fire in 1993, then-Gov. George W. Bush asked the Texas Historical Commission to assess courthouses across the state. It was discovered many of them were deteriorating rapidly.

This prompted the creation of the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, which has partnered with counties for 25 years to save these architectural treasures, honoring the artistry and ingenuity of the past while ensuring they remain operational and open to the public. Largely constructed over a 100-year period from the 1850s to the 1950s, county courthouses are not only government buildings but also representative of a county’s history and identity.

In 1998, Texas courthouses were listed on America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, drawing national attention to the cause leading up to Bush and the legislature establishing the preservation program in 1999.

Since then, the legislature has appropriated $486.2 million to THCPP, with grants funding 81 full restorations. The program has also issued grants for partial restorations and planning grants to assist counties in preparing construction documents.

“What’s important to me is preserving a sense of place,” says THCPP coordinator Susan Tietz. “Courthouses are at the heart of the county seats, and it’s just such a critical piece to those communities.”

In May, the Bullock Museum will showcase artifacts from specific restoration projects in an exhibition on the history of the statewide program. Here, writer Kristen Tribe takes a look at current restorations taking place across the state: https://bit.ly/3ZC5G7I

On Monday, March 2- Texas Independence Day- join us on the lawn of the Historic Wise County Courthouse for the dedication of an Alamo Letter Society marker- a powerful reminder of the words and resolve that helped shape Texas.

The marker features a 203-pound replica of the original Alamo plaque, bearing the complete text of Col. William B. Travis’s famous “Victory or Death” letter, written during the 1836 siege of the Alamo. That letter, a call for aid and a declaration of resolve, has become one of the most important documents in Texas history.

The Alamo Letter Society is a statewide, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing Texas history by placing these replicas at all 254 Texas county courthouses, ensuring that the story and words of the Alamo are accessible to Texans in every corner of the state- not just in San Antonio.

This dedication is part of our ongoing effort to educate, commemorate, and pass along Texas history to future generations.

📍 Texas Independence Day
🗓 Monday, March 2
🕕 6:00 p.m.
📌 Historic Wise County Courthouse Lawn
101 N. Trinity Street, Decatur

Presented by County Judge J.D. Clark, Alamo Letter Society County Chair.

Learn more about the Alamo Letter Society and its mission at www.alamoletter.com.

Wise County, Texas, restored its courthouse to its original design, making the county's centerpiece more inviting and evocative of the community's aspirations.

“We're honoring the past to the county," said County Judge J.D. Clark, NACo's president. "But we did it in a way that now the county's going to be able to use this building for another 100 years.”

Read more: https://www.naco.org/news/wise-county-courthouse-renovation-turns-back-clock-130-years

Absolutely incredible magazine produced by the Wise County Messenger out today! Be sure to get a copy…beautiful coverage, photos, and design!

SAVING HISTORY TAKES WORK: The Wise County Messenger's special magazine chronicling the restoration of the Wise County Courthouse is hot off the press.

The magazine, included with today's edition of the paper, dives into the undertaking to return the courthouse to its 1895 design, the history of the building (...as well as its ill-fated predecessors), the revealing collection of artifacts found during construction and much more!