Year Built: 1916
Architect: W. R. Rice
The Lynn County Courthouse is located in Tahoka, Texas.
In 1876 the Texas legislature created Lynn county, which organized in 1903 with Tahoka as county seat. A two-story frame structure on this site served as courthouse until citizens approved a bond election for the current building in Jul. 1915. Designed by William M. Rice and built by A.Z. Rogers, the three-story building with full basement housed courtrooms, office space and the county jail. Completed in Dec. 1916, the reinforced concrete building with red brick and cast stone veneer exhibits classical revival style in symmetrical facades repeated on opposite sides and porticos with ionic columns.
Historical Marker – 2008
“In July 1915, a bond election was held to authorize $100,000 in county bonds to build a new county complex. After the bonds were approved William Marshall Rice of Amarillo was selected as architect and A. Z. Rodgers of Henrietta was chosen as contractor. Rice was later the contractor for the 1921 Freestone County Courthouse, at Fairfield, which is almost identical to the Lynn County Courthouse. However the design of the Freestone Courthouse is attributed to W.R. Kaufman of Amarillo. [W.M. Rice also constructed the Limestone and Parmer County courthouses.]
“Architect W.M. Rice submitted the final drawings for the Lynn County Courthouse to the county’s Commissioner’s Court in December 1915. The structure was to be a ‘three story building with a basement, the basement being the modern above ground style. The plan was replete with office rooms, vaults…with a magnificent courtroom.’ It was to serve as county offices, courts, and jail. Construction commenced in 1916, and the new courthouse opened in December 1916.
“The Neo-Classical style building’s dark red brick facade is applied over reinforced concrete. Light colored stone detailing provides contrast with the brick. The building is shaped symmetrically with identical facades opposite one another.
“The middle section of the building features the four colossal porticos with Ionic columns. The north and south porticos are most imposing. They are obviously intended to be the main entrances to the building, as a wide flight of concrete steps leads up to the first floor doors, which are guarded by four Ionic columns. The east and west facades are slightly less orna-mented, with only two columns and stairs leading down into the basement level. Iron balconies project from the second floor on these facades.
“The east and west porticos are flat roofed with a crenelated parapet. The attic story is topped with a stone cornice and crenelated parapet. All parapets have stone caps. Near the top of each facade is an ornate stone medallion centered with the letter ‘L’ for Lynn County.”
From the National Register narrative
