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June 28, 2008 | Grimes County Courthouse

There are 254 counties in the State of Texas. Each of these counties is unique in geography, history and local culture. And each of them has a courthouse. I have no idea how many of the 254 counties I’ve been to in my life, but I got a crazy idea that it would be fun to visit each and every one of them, taking a photo of each courthouse as proof that I was there.

The architecture of courthouses in Texas range from the hundred-plus year old Romanesque Revival style buildings to big brick boxes built in the last forty years with no style. But for the project the ugly ones are just as important as the pretty ones. Keep in mind that Texas is 268,820 square miles big, covered by mountains, deserts, forests, plains, beaches and islands, so the project could take a lifetime to complete, or may never be completed at all. But you’ll never know if you don’t try so without further delay….

Texas County Courthouse Project #1: Grimes County (Anderson, Texas)

Established in 1846, Grimes County is in southeast Texas, forty miles northwest of Houston. Named for Jesse Grimes, veteran of the War of 1812, Texas pioneer and politician and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle was killed by his own men near present day Navasota in 1687.

The Fanthorp Inn, a former stagecoach stop, is located in what would become the county seat of Anderson. The guest list of the Inn reads like a who’s who of 19th century American politics, including Sam Houston, Jefferson Davis, Ulysses S. Grant, Zachary Taylor, Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.

Anderson was named for Kenneth Lewis Anderson, the last Vice President of the Republic of Texas. He was only 39 when he died from fever at the Fanthorp Inn. Had he lived it is likely he would have been elected as the first governor of the newly annexed state.

The Italianate style courthouse was built in 1893 and has withstood two fires. In the 1930’s the courthouse hosted the trial of a Barrow Gang (Bonnie and Clyde) member. According to the historical marker he “vowed he'd see court in infernal regions.”

This past week we traveled with my parents to the hill country to go camping. This was the first county seat we drove through and my Dad was nice enough to pull the trailer over to let me jump out and take a few pictures. And so the Grimes County courthouse became courthouse number one of the Texas County Courthouse Project. One down, two hundred and fifty three more to go!

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