Granbury, Texas .. Hood County Courthouse

Erected 1890-1891, this handsome building is the fifth courthouse on this site, and is a Texas version of the french second empire style. The first courthouse (1867) was a 1-room log cabin housing county records, lawyers and land agents' offices, and mail station. It was succeeded by 3 stone structures. Contractors Moodie and Ellis and Architect W.C. Dodson built this native stone edifice. The clock tower, added after completion, was reinforced with steel in 1969. This wonderful historic masterpiece still proudly stands as the focal point of the historic Granbury Square, which became the first in Texas to be added to the National Register of Historic Places, and was the model for the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Main Street Program. It has been described as "one of the most complete examples of a late 19th century courthouse square in Texas." The readers of Texas Highways magazine voted Granbury as "The best Town Square in Texas," in 1998.