Historic Significance: The Texas legislature created Hopkins County in 1846. Its original courthouse rose at Tarrant in 1853, but federal troops moved the county seat in 1868. Originally called Bright Star, the new seat became known as Sulphur Springs. With no navigable rivers the town square developed at the convergence of overland routes to Paris, Quitman, Winnsboro, Gilmer, Mt. Pleasant, Daingerfield, and Jefferson. Ox-drawn wagons carried goods from Hopkins County to steamboat landings at Jefferson along what is now Highway 67. In 1876, the East Line & Red River Railroad connected Sulphur Springs to Jefferson and Greenville. Business grew, and farmers brought produce to the square. When the state allowed counties to issue bonds for new courthouses, Hopkins County upgraded in 1882 to a large brick structure. Sulphur Springs in 1885 claimed a population of 2,500, with mills, wagon & furniture factories, foundries & machine shops, two newspapers, two banks, a small college, and an opera house. The St. Louis, Arkansas, & Texas Railway connected the town to Sherman in 1887. Then, in 1894, the courthouse, jail, and commercial buildings on the east side of the square burned. The county judge and commissioners replaced the public buildings in 1895 with the present courthouse and a matching jail. For more than 110 years, the 1895 courthouse visually anchored the town square and served as a seat of justice. It is a favorite among connoisseurs of Texas courthouses and one of the finest designs of courthouse architect J. Riely Gordon. Gordon built as many as 18 county courthouses in Texas, including definitive examples such as those at Waxahatchie, Waco, San Antonio, Stephenville, New Braunfels, La Grange, Decatur, and Victoria. The Hopkins courthouse was virtually identical to courthouses at Canton and Brazoria, but neither of those survive. Then-Gov. George W. Bush toured the Hopkins County courthouse in October of 1998 while gathering information for proposals that became the Courthouse Preservation Program of the Texas Historical Commission. Although some offices have been relocated to outlying buildings, the 1895 courthouse in Sulphur Springs still contains the courtroom of the 8 th & 62 nd Judicial Districts, jury rooms, the County Court at Law and the commissioners' courtroom, as well as offices of the county judge, treasurer, auditor, & commissioners, and the district clerk.
History of the Structure: The county judge and commissioners of Hopkins County contracted with Diebold Safe & Lock Co. in March of 1894 to build a jail for $13,000. It was in the Romanesque style popularized by architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Twenty days later, they chose San Antonio architect J. Riely Gordon to design and superintend a fireproof granite and sandstone courthouse, three stories high, in a style compatible with the jail. Sonnerfield & Ammins of Dallas served as contractors. Their contract price of $52,410 eventually crawled to $75,000, due to safety concerns expressed by Gordon and architect A. O. Watson of Austin, who recommended steel bracing rods to stabilize the walls. Gordon buildings usually feature a Greek cross floor plan, corner entrances, Texas granite exteriors with sandstone trim, stones of contrasting colors, marble wainscoting, tile & stone flooring, masonry interiors, oak woodwork, cast iron stairs, and ventilating stairwells. All of these are incorporated into the Hopkins building, along with an unusual double-helix staircase and curved, corrugated, sheet-metal ceilings to reflect light and brighten the rooms. Romantic touches like heads embowered in vines, carved below the balconies, add flair and interest to the exterior. For those in the area who love it, the Hopkins County courthouse seems like their very own castle.
Relatively few structural changes were made to the courthouse over the years, with repair contracts only granted in 1945, 1971, and 1979. The latter restored the third-floor jury room to its original appearance. The demolition of the 1895 jail in the mid-1980s (to simplify a street intersection) is now deplored. It could have supplied office space for county business. As for the main building, although there had been few physical changes much needed to be done. Original design features had been covered over, window casings were rotting, and sandstone components had deteriorated to the point of danger (including a roof turret that was near collapse). The wiring was very overloaded and out-of-date. County employees stored records in enclosed balconies whose floors were not designed for heavy loads. There was no elevator, only one set of stairs, and no Americans with Disabilities features. People in wheelchairs could only enter the basement, and courts could only adapt to their presence by convening in the bottom of the stairwell in front of the only major bathrooms. County officials estimated that upwards of 200 people routinely used the building at a given time, and were terrified of what might happen in a fire. Prior to its restoration, the place seemed like a crisis waiting to happen.
Restoration: Tense conflicts between progressives and preservationists stirred the waters of Hopkins County politics for decades when it came to the courthouse. Many loved and protected it, while others relentlessly advocated its demolition. In spite of a mild bias in favor of preservation on the grounds of historic interest, most residents just wanted low taxes. Their opinions could sway either direction, depending on whether preservation or replacement seemed most practical. The granting of a historical marker in 1975 and listing on the National Register in 1977 meant little if the judge and commissioners stopped maintaining the building. However, the return of the third-floor jury room to its original appearance in 1980 cost so little and looked so nice that sceptics became less hostile to the idea of restoration. The nation's bicentennial had brought a renewed appreciation for historical styles and heritage tourism. Too, so many local landmarks had been lost in the 1960s and 1970s that the survivors seemed more important. Then, in June of 1998, the National Trust for Historic Preservation put Texas courthouses on its annual list of America's Most Endangered Historic Places. Gov. George W. Bush displayed an interest in saving them and toured the Hopkins County courthouse while meeting with local officials to see why its upkeep was so problematic. His findings helped Bush to develop the Texas Courthouse Preservation Program through the Texas Historical Commission. Bush estimated that a state contribution of $250 million, with local matching funds, could save all the state's historic courthouses as viable public buildings. East Texas State Sen. Bill Ratliff supported the program as chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, and Cletis Millsap of Sulphur Springs was called to Austin to testify on the plan's behalf. Millsap soon thereafter became the county judge, intent on bringing the benefits of the Courthouse Preservation Program to Hopkins County.
After the passage of House Bill 1341 and Senate Bill 728, with Bush's signature, the Texas Historical Commission began accepting applications for Round One of its Courthouse Preservation grants. Once the residents of Hopkins realized that they could only save money by restoring the courthouse instead of replacing it, preservationists poured from the woodwork. Judge Millsap coordinated the grant application, pushed it to completion, and unswervingly backed the project from start to finish. His support was utterly critical. To design its Master Plan, county officials chose Craig Melde of Architexas, a Dallas firm which has drawn up plans for courthouse preservation in at least sixteen counties. Their on-site manager was David Chase. To manage the actual construction, Hopkins County chose the veteran East Texas firm of Harrison, Walker & Harper of Paris, headed by Chip Harper, whose site manager was Mike Burkett. Many specialty firms acted as subcontractors. Hopkins County figured its share of the costs as 24 cents on the dollar. The State ultimately released $3.66 million, with Hopkins supplying $1.3 million. Private donors raised money for aspects of the restoration that weren't covered by the state grant. In this endeavor, Mrs. Mary Bonham's help was indispensable. A philanthropist, horse-racing enthusiast, and the owner of J-B Weld Corporation, Mrs. Bonham headed the Courthouse Restoration Committee and got the ball rolling with a pledge of $100,000 if the community would match it. Civic leaders climbed on board and raised the needed funds. Their money paid for period-style furnishings and decorative elements in the District Courtroom, Commissioners' Courtroom, and District Clerk and County Judge's offices. Construction proceeded throughout 2001 and 2002, with a Restoration Celebration staged on May 7, 2002. The building was formally rededicated to public service on Dec. 7, 2002. The Terry Committee congratulates and applauds our friends in Hopkins County on their stupendous perseverance in guarding the courthouse for so many years and bringing its restoration to a beautiful fruition.
