The Jeff Davis County Courthouse is located in the town of Fort Davis, the seat of Jeff Davis County in the U.S. state of Texas. The courthouse was constructed between 1910-1911 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. The Texas Historical Commission (THC) has also designated the building as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark since 2000 and, along with the surrounding courthouse square, as a State Antiquities Landmark since 2003. The surrounding county and county seat, along with the nearby historic frontier fort at Fort Davis National Historic Site, are named after Jefferson Davis, who served as U.S. war secretary at the time of the establishment of the fort and the town, and who would later become president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

The courthouse is located in the town's traditionally commercial district and holds the distinction of having the highest elevation of any of the state's courthouses due to Fort Davis' altitude in the state's western Davis Mountains. The building was constructed in a Classic Revival style with recessed columned porticoes on two sides with a Beaux-Arts clock tower atop. The ground floor primarily hosts county offices while the second floor is dominated by the district courtroom.

A previous facility located on the same square from 1880 to 1911 served as the original courthouse for both Jeff Davis County and also for Presidio County from which Jeff Davis County was partitioned and of which Fort Davis also formerly served as the county seat. The older courthouse was an adobe facility that required constant maintenance and never held sufficient space to serve the needs of either county government.

The current building has also suffered over its history with poor construction requiring constant repair as well as the need for upgrades to modern infrastructure and technical standards. The courthouse underwent major renovations in the 1950s, many of which disrespected the building's original architectural design, and again in this century with THC funding that further modernized the structure while rectifying many of the previous renovation's design deficiencies bringing the building closer to its original glory. The courthouse grounds are planted mostly with native species, and continues to serve as a focal point for holiday celebrations and community observations.

Description

The courthouse is located in the center of Fort Davis' courthouse square on a block bounded by Court Avenue to the north, South State Street to the east, Woodward Avenue to the south, and South Front Street on the west. State St., along the square's eastern boundary, is the town's main thoroughfare conveying both State Highway 17 (SH 17) and SH 118 which merge just south of the square's southeastern corner at Woodward Ave. The building's official address is 100 Court Avenue along the northern face of the courthouse.

The two-story Classic Revival edifice features an exterior with alternating layers of concrete and rusticated pink native stone. Six doric columns enclose recessed pedimented porticoes on each of the northern and southern faces of the building. From the building's slab-on-grade foundation to the sill of the first-story windows is a base composed of a poured-in-place water table. Above that is the layered concrete and volcanic stone exterior walls most of which is slightly recessed from concrete block quoins. Above the second story windows begins a painted, decorative sheet metal entablature capped with a prominent cornice. Above the central portion of each of the building's four sides is a wood-framed, low-pitched, cross-gabled roof with pediments at each end covered with asphalt shingles. The four corner sections have low-pitched roofs with external gutters.

Atop the structure is a Beaux-Arts octagonal clock tower enclosing a Seth Thomas timepiece. This cupola, including its dome and rectangular base, are covered in painted, decorative sheet metal. A U.S. Geological Survey benchmark at the east side of the courthouse indicates an elevation of at that location, while the building itself is the highest courthouse in Texas at . THC documentation describes the building as resembling a smaller version of the Mason County Courthouse in Mason. In addition to the building, a cylindrical concrete block cistern constructed around 1900 located on the southwest corner of the courthouse square is included as a contributing structure to the site's National Register designation.

The courthouse's base floor, elevated above the ground of the surrounding square and accessible from steps on each side of the building except the wheelchair-accessible west side, holds space for several county offices arranged around central crossing corridors connecting the entrances in the middle of each side of the building in each cardinal direction. The base floor also includes the county judge's courtroom, a vault for storage of county records, restrooms, and storage space. On the east side of the building, two flights of stairs lead to the second floor. The first flight consists of two separate stairways that combine around the base of a wider central flight ending at the second floor facing the entrance to the main courtroom. A second stairway is located south of the west end of the building's main central corridor and is used to provide access to offices and other facilities behind the upper courtroom and as use as a secondary fire escape. An elevator on the southeast side of the building also adjoins the two main floors.

The second floor of the structure is dominated by the main courtroom occupying all of the space between the north and south porticoes with windows shaded by the porticoes. The judge's podium, witness stand, and position for court officials are located beyond the west end of the courtroom which includes stained glass fixtures, including a fan-shaped ornament behind the judge's podium, filtering outside light from windows behind. The jury box is along the south wall to the right of the podium while a table for additional officials is along the north wall to the left of the podium. Tables for trial adversaries and their counsel face the podium and are separated by a central aisle. The spectator section comprises the central and eastern portions of the room and is separated by a golden oak railing from the parties of the proceedings. Above the spectator section is a balcony, often called the "buzzard's roost", providing additional spectator seating. The courtroom features a ornamental tin pressed ceiling. East of the courtroom on both sides of the landing of the central staircase from the first floor are additional county offices, the elevator shaft, and storage space. Stairways on both sides of the central stairway from below lead upward one flight combining to a central flight to the courtroom balcony and the east end of the third floor. The west wing of the second floor behind the judge's podium includes the judge's chamber, the jury room, additional office and storage space, and a single-toilet restroom. The fire stairway from the first floor continues upward to the third.

The east and west wings of the third floor of the courthouse are separated and unconnected due to the high ceiling of the main courtroom on the second floor beyond the courtroom's balcony. The east wing on both sides of the central stairway from the second floor leading to the courtroom balcony are storage and mechanical spaces. The small stairway on the west wing from the second floor opens into a storage area with potential office usage. This area has an additional stairway leading into the building's attic and clock house tower. The floor is narrower than the courtroom on each end of the building and above the rooftop in all of the courthouse's corner quadrants.

The surrounding courthouse square supports an arboretum featuring predominantly native tree species. Located around the courthouse grounds are several state historical markers and monuments including one recognizing the courthouse itself. Other state historical markers include one recognizing local namesake Jefferson Davis and a pink granite monument recounting the Confederate occupation and abandonment of the town and its military fort during the Civil War. An additional monument recognizes local hero Sgt. Manuel Gonzales for his valiant accomplishments during World War II. Both the Confederate and Gonzales monuments, on the northeast grounds of the square, are recognized resources as non-contributing objects as part of the site's National Register status.

At the entrance of each side of the building are semicircular landings equal in width to the steps thereby making the landings at the principal north and south entrance much larger. From each landing are straight sidewalks, first constructed in 1918, leading directly toward the streets. A fence constructed of steel pipes around 1915 lines the perimeter of the property. The fence includes turnstiles installed where the entrance sidewalks at the center of each side of the property. For greater accessibility, the west turnstile has been removed, and a larger gate has been installed on the south side.

History

The U.S. Army garrison of Fort Davis was commissioned in 1854 enabling the settlement of the nearby supporting civilian town site under the fort's protection from hostile Native Americans. At the time, Fort Davis belonged to a much larger Presidio County, created by the Texas Legislature in 1850, that encompassed most of the present region of Texas west of the Pecos River. After several fruitless attempts, the county was successfully organized in 1875 then comprising present-day Brewster, Jeff Davis, and Presidio counties. That year, the county accepted the gift of a land parcel in Fort Davis for the site of a future courthouse and county jail from local merchant Whittaker Keesey. Nevertheless, the county initially needed to rent office and court space, first in a dance hall, and then from space provided by another townsman while an additional local merchant rented furniture. Jail space was rented from Keesey at his family's store.

Original courthouse

In 1879, the Presidio County Commissioners Court assessed a 50-cent tax per $100 valuation to finance the construction of what would become the original Presidio County Courthouse and jail on the previously donated Keesey property on the northwestern portion of the present courthouse square in Fort Davis. The Commissioners Court accepted a bid of $2,400 from William Jenkins to design and build the courthouse and jail.

The new facility, on the street corner at the northwest corner of the parcel, was completed in 1880. It was of adobe construction and fashioned into a U-shape surrounding an open courtyard. The courtyard included a well and was enclosed with a to adobe wall with a massive gate and a smaller entrance door within the gate. The building probably contained only three rooms and featured an by jail cell below the sheriff's office and guard room accessible through a trap door. The dungeon cell was poorly lit and ventilated with narrow slits of heavily barred windows along the top of the walls. This jail configuration was common among Southwestern courthouses at the time, including contemporary facilities in El Paso and San Antonio, and often referenced as "Batcaves". Prisoners were chained to six iron bull rings fastened into the walls with wrought iron pickets located from the floor.