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The Spanish name El Paso del Norte denotes a historically important geographical point, the channel cut by the Rio Grande through the mountains to form a natural passageway for travelers to the north or south, east or west. The name El Paso appears in print as early as 1610, in the narrative of Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá, poet-historian of the Oñate expedition of 1598. This large colonizing expedition claimed for the king of Spain all the vast territory of the upper Rio Grande. The way up the river had already been charted by the Rodríguez-Sánchez expedition by 1582. The Oñate expedition, however, had sought a shortcut through the Chihuahuan Desert. Pérez de Villagrá wrote that without water, and almost without hope, the expedition continued on, seeking "el paso por las montañas." At the pass in 1598, on the banks of the river, Oñate and his followers staged a three-day celebration. One of his captains wrote and produced a drama for the occasion, perhaps the first drama presented on what is now American soil. Fish, ducks, and geese from the river supplied food for a great feast, to which Indians living in the area were invited guests, and gratitude was formally rendered to God for the safe arrival of the expedition. Should this be considered the first American Thanksgiving? The pass continued to serve as a way station for travelers between Spanish Mexico and its far-flung dominions to the north. In 1680 an Indian uprising drove the Spaniards out of New Mexico. Many of them found refuge in the El Paso valley, bringing with them members of two Indian tribes, the Tiguas and the Piros. For these were founded the missions of Corpus Christi de la Isleta in Ysleta and Nuestra Señora del Socorro in Socorro.
The people of El Paso had little involvement with the stirring events of 1836-45, the period of the Republic of Texas. An old and valued part of the Republic of Mexico, the El Paso area went its own way. Then came the Mexican War, and the resulting Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, which made all of the area north of the Rio Grande a part of the United States. Suddenly the historic gateway at the pass became important to Texas, and the state almost immediately attempted to assert its right to the area. On March 15, 1848, the Texas legislature proclaimed Santa Fe County, which included the area of present-day El Paso County as well as other parts of west Texas and much of the present-day state of New Mexico. After heated protests by the citizens of the city of Santa Fe, Texas governor Peter H. Bell threatened to establish Texas authority over the area by force. Early in 1849 public meetings were held in Austin "to determine whether a practicable route could be had between Austin and El Paso," and two rugged frontiersmen, John Salmon (Rip) Ford and Col. Robert S. Neighbors,q were sent to the area to attempt to organize the territory. Ford and Neighbors almost failed to make it to El Paso-the explorers became lost many times and nearly starved-and were unable to obtain their political goal. That same year a military force under Maj. Jefferson Van Horne set out from San Antonio to establish a military post at El Paso. The company of 257 soldiers headed westward on June 1, with 275 wagons, 2,500 head of livestock, and a number of emigrants. It took 100 days for the group to reach El Paso, where they established the new post in the heart of the city. The post, later renamed Fort Bliss, has become one of the nation's major air-defense centers and is a strong influence in the El Paso County area.
In January 1850 the Texas legislature subdivided Santa Fe County into four smaller counties, one of which was named El Paso County; and in February 1850 Robert Neighbors arrived again in El Paso in another attempt to organize the area. This time his efforts were successful, and San Elizario, the ancient Spanish presidio town, was chosen to be the county seat. With its population of 1,200 San Elizario was at the time the county's largest town and possibly the largest settlement between San Antonio and the West Coast. Parts of the original county were subsequently stripped away from Texas as part of the Compromise of 1850, passed by the United States Congress in November of that year. In its resulting form the county also included the present Hudspeth and Culberson counties; Culberson was separated in 1912 and Hudspeth in 1917. By 1860 El Paso county had a population of 4,456 and a fairly extensive agricultural base; more than 12,300 acres in the county was planted in corn, and almost 17,000 acres was planted in wheat; the agricultural census for that year also found 7,253 sheep, 2,953 milk cows, and 2,049 other cattle in the county. Slavery was an almost insignificant factor in El Paso County's agricultural economy, however, since there were only fifteen slaves in the area at that time.
Nevertheless, in February 1861 county citizens voted almost unanimously to support secession. Though the county was occupied by both Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War, it saw little actual combat. Fort Bliss was surrendered peacefully to the Confederates soon after secession; later that year an expedition under Confederate general Henry H. Sibley marched from Fort Bliss, intent upon claiming all of New Mexico and Arizona for the Confederacy. The expedition failed, and when the Confederates returned to the pass they found that the California Column, commanded by Brig. Gen. James H. Carleton, was beginning to arrive to reclaim the area for the Union. It remained in Union hands for the remainder of the war. Despite its relative isolation during the Civil War, the county was economically disrupted during the conflict and for several years afterward. As late as 1870 the United States Agricultural Census found only one farm in the county, and crop production that year was insignificant. Gone, too, were the thousands of sheep that had ranged in the area before the war, and the census counted only two milk cows in the county. By 1880, however, the economy was recovering. The agricultural census for that year counted 279 farms and ranches encompassing almost 20,000 acres of land in the county; wheat was planted on more than 2,500 acres, and local farmers were also growing corn, barley, oats, and rye. Livestock were slowly being replenished; the census reported 613 sheep, 397 milk cows, and 844 cattle in the county, further evidence of economic revival.
Though the Republican party dominated county politics until 1886, the county was convulsed during this period by political conflicts, such as the Salt War of San Elizario of 1877. Although on the surface this was a struggle over rights to salt from the salt beds 100 miles to the east, it was primarily a conflict between political factions. It came to a bitter climax of riot and murder in the streets of San Elizario. One result of the conflict was that Fort Bliss, temporarily not in use, was quickly regarrisoned, to be a part of El Paso County life from that time forward. Postwar county politics also featured a protracted county-seat war. In 1866 the county's government was moved from San Elizario to Ysleta, one of the oldest settlements in the county. Then, in 1868, San Elizario again became county seat; it retained the role until 1873, when another election made Ysleta county seat. In 1883, after yet another hotly contested election, El Paso became the county seat.
The decision to make El Paso the seat of government reflected, in part, that city's growing importance as an international transportation hub during a period of rapid economic development in the county. In 1881 four railroads (the Santa Fe, the Texas and Pacific, the Southern Pacific, and the Galveston, Harrisburg and San Antonio) built their way into the county; the next year the tracks of the Mexican Central also reached the city. The arrival of the railroads helped El Paso County, already a crossroads of transportation, burgeon into a major metropolitan area. Its population of 3,845 in 1880 grew to 15,678 in 1890, to 24,886 in 1900, and to 101,877 in 1920. By opening the area to immigration and outside markets, the railroads also helped to stimulate farming and ranching in the county. After a brief downturn in the 1880s, a difficult decade for farmers throughout Texas and the Southwest, the agricultural sector of El Paso's economy grew steadily during the 1890s and the first years of the twentieth century. The number of farms in the area increased from 196 in 1890 to 318 in 1900, then to 669 in 1910. Cattle ranching became more important than ever for the county's economy during this period, as the number of cattle in the county increased from 1,631 in 1890 to almost 95,000 in 1910. Meanwhile, farmers grew increasingly large crops of sorghum and other feed grains; by 1910, for example, almost 10,000 acres of land in the county was planted in sorghum. Local farmers also planted tens of thousands of fruit trees during this period, including 9,970 pear trees. Poultry also began to be a significant part of the farming economy during this time; by 1910 birds raised for eggs or meat numbered more than 14,200 in El Paso County. The agricultural sector suffered a brief downturn in the that decade, but in the 1920s a cotton boom led to a significant increase in the number of farms in the county. Little if any cotton had been planted in the county in 1900, and only 1,548 acres was devoted to the crop as late as 1920. By 1929, however, cotton was raised on more than 46,300 acres win the county. Poultry production similarly increased during the 1920s; in 1929, for example, county farms fed more than 57,300 chickens, and more than 377,000 dozen eggs were sold by farmers. Fruit production also accelerated, and by 1929 there were over 122,000 fruit trees in cultivation in the county. Meanwhile, the number of farms in El Paso County rose quickly to 1,035 by 1925 and to 1,263 by 1929.
The county's economy and its society diversified in other directions during this period, too. In 1880, the year before the arrival of the railroads, only 4 manufacturing establishments, employing 423 workers, were operating in El Paso County. By 1890 there were 73 manufacturers in the county; by 1900, there were 143; and by 1930, there were 160, which together employed 6,224 workers. The completion of Elephant Butte Dam on the Rio Grande in New Mexico in 1916 contributed to both farming and manufacturing, and brought electricity to thousands of residents. The enlargement of Fort Bliss during the World War I also helped the area to prosper. The population of El Paso County grew from 15,678 in 1890 to 24,886 in 1900, 52,599 in 1910, and 131,957 in 1930. Manufacturers, farmers, and workers all suffered through the Great Depression of the 1930s. Cotton production dropped more than 30 percent from 1929 to 1940, for example, and the number of farms in El Paso County decreased from 1,263 to 1,075. Meanwhile, the number of factories in the county declined from 160 in 1930 to 132 in 1940, throwing thousands of workers out of their jobs; in 1940 only 3,081 people worked for manufacturers in the county. The county's population as a whole also declined slightly during the depression, to 131,067. World War II, and especially the considerable enlargement of Fort Bliss during the war, helped the area to recover and begin a new cycle of growth. After the 1940s the number of manufacturing establishments grew. In 1947, for example, there were 148 manufacturers in the county employing 6,167 workers; by 1963 the county had 251 manufacturing establishments employing 14, 916 workers; and by 1982 there were 471 manufacturers in the county employing about 38,300 workers. Meanwhile, the county population increased to 194,968 by 1950, to 314,070 by 1969, to 359,291 in 1970, to 479,899 in 1980, and to an estimated 591,610 in 1992.
Modern El Paso County is fronted, just across the Rio Grande, with another metropolitan area, Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua, the largest Mexican city on the border (estimated population in 1985: 750,000). The two populations shared the experiences of Civil War in the United States and of the Mexican Revolution. The blending of two cultures is everywhere present on both sides of the border. More than 60 percent of the residents of El Paso County have Spanish surnames. In private life and in the public schools, there are constant efforts to make the population bilingual. Problems, of course, are many. Mexico, beset in the 1980s by inflation and unemployment, saw its citizens moving, legally and illegally, toward an anticipated better life in the United States. Thousands of aliens crossing the river without authorization were captured monthly and sent back to their own country, but a larger number succeeded in entering Texas. On the positive side, border commerce gives rich benefits to both countries. A relatively recent development is the "twin plants" concept, in which United States industries have twin operations in Mexico, where the labor-intensive part of the work is carried on (see MAQUILADORAS). A large supply of skilled and unskilled labor provides El Paso with a varied industrial base. The city is one of the nation's principal centers for the manufacture of outdoor clothing and boots. Smelting, copper and oil refining, railroad operations, and a large and varied retail trade join with government and military activities to provide an ever-changing variety of employment.
El Paso County Court House History:
Thirty-one years is a rather short time for an elegant and magnificent courthouse to exist. In the annals of great architecture such buildings have barely reached infancy. But that - thirty-one years - was the lifetime of one of the "largest and finest county courthouses of its time in Texas." It was built in El Paso after the city became the county seat of El Paso County in early 1884.
The history of this grand structure began in the 1880's when the county seat was still located in the lower valley at Ysleta. Once a thriving community and the seat of political power in the county, it began to lose its influence to the slowly-emerging community to the west - the city of El Paso.
Ysleta had been the county seat since 1878, but it lacked a real courthouse. The grand jury met in a small, inadequate room provided by the sheriff. The jurors became so dissatisfied with the substandard accommodations that they issued a report stating that the quarters were alive with vermin and in a reprehensible condition. The jurors chastised the sheriff for allowing the room to fall into such a state of disrepair. To remedy the situation, the commissioners court decided to build a small two-level courthouse on some donated land.
Built entirely of sandstone, the first floor consisted of five rooms which served as county offices. Although the completed structure measured approximately 140 by 280 feet, it was still so small that the county judge and the grand jury had to share the same office. To finance the project, the court issued bonds totaling $14,000 at 8% interest. By September, 1882, the courthouse was nearing completion, but its use as such would be brief.
A political power struggle was ensuing between the residents of Ysleta and those of El Paso. The latter did not appreciate the half-day journey to Ysleta in order to serve as jurors and witnesses. Nor did the growing list of El Paso attorneys. It had been fewer than five years since Ysleta had succeeded in becoming the county seat, taking the honor from San Elizario in an election. By law, a county seat could not be moved more than once every five years, and by 1883, five years had passed since the last election. Ysleta was anxious to hold another election and retain the county seat. Having more qualified voters than El Paso, the citizens of Ysleta felt they could keep El Paso from becoming the county seat. They also knew that a two-thirds majority was needed to move a county seat further than five miles away, which El Paso was.
But El Pasoans were determined to move the county seat. It would give El Paso prestige and easy access to the courts and county government. By November 3, 1883, 110 citizens had signed a petition requesting the election, and County Judge Marshall Rogers ordered that it take place on December 3rd.
As was customary in those days, whenever there was an election, opposing factions rounded up all the men they could to vote. One Frank Faudoa was notorious for gathering supportive voters in all the nearby communities. To obtain their support, he would give them a reward from a bag of silver dollars he carried, then transport them to the polls in his buggy. Later, they were treated to barbecue, beer, music, and dancing. For Frank, this election would be no different.
El Pasoans knew they had to make the supreme effort in order to succeed. On November 7, 1883, El Paso's Lone Star newspaper printed the following editorial:
There is no registration required nor any uexatious pre liminaries...the large body of Mexicans...have to go before the clerk of the district court and declare their intention to become citizens of the United States and then, if they lived the legal period in the state and county, they are entitled to vote...every ballot counts....H
On election day, businesses closed, the Santa Fe Railroad offered free rides to voters, and people who owned buggies and wagons were kept busy transporting voters. Many residents from Juarez came to the aid of El Paso, as did residents of San Elizario, still stinging from the loss of the county seat five years earlier. People, whether qualified to vote or not, were rounded up and voted. Although there were fewer than 1000 qualified voters, by the day's end, the vote stood at 2252 votes for El Paso and 476 for Ysleta. Needless to say, citizens of Ysleta were outraged, and threatened to seek indictments against those responsible for the fraudulent election, but El Pasoans felt that their time had come. No criminal charges were ever filed.
In celebration of its victory, El Paso decided to build a court house that would be unparalleled in Texas. So, on August 25, 1884, the county signed a contract for such a courthouse to be constructed within the next fifteen months.
By way of preparation, the Commissioners Court converted the Ysleta courthouse into a school, housed the county government temporarily in the Lessor Building and other nearby structures, and used the furniture from the Ysleta building in the newly-leased offices. A citizens petition asked for a 25-cent tax on each $100 of taxable property to pay for the new edifice.
On February 20, 1884, the Court announced that it was ready to accept bids for the new courthouse and jail. Bids for construction and for the land were submitted. W. S. Hills bid was accepted for the latter - a lot bounded by San Antonio, Kansas, Overland, and Campbell Streets. The new jail was to be located across the street.
The temporary jail became so overcrowded that the guard, Charles Linn, often had to run criminals out of town to make room for others. Women inmates fared even worse. It was hard for a woman not to escape when her quarters had a door frame, but no door, and the only window had no glass!
Unfortunately, the construction of the new courthouse resulted in a scandal. The $135,000 bid of Britton and Long of Houston to build the new courthouse and jail had been accepted and it required that the courthouse be completed in fifteen months and the jail in seven. In May, 1885, certain citizens claimed that the construction company was performing substandard work. Among the complaints were that 1) stone, not brick (as specified in the contract) was used for the foundation; 2) sand, not concrete, was used under the vaults; 3) inferior iron work was prevalent; and 4) piles and girders were not constructed as stated in the plans. Some alleged that the contractor bribed officials to look the other way. Attorney James B. Hague decided to set a trap. He scheduled a meeting to accept a bribe of $2,500. Only after the money had been exchanged did the contractor realize that hidden witnesses had observed the criminal activity. Then, Hague, to the cheers of spectators, donated the bribe money to charity.
Subsequently, the Commissioners Court conducted a full evidentiary hearing and found that fraud had indeed been committed. The county attorney issued warrants for the arrest of the individuals alleged to be responsible.
On January 20, 1886, the Commissioners Court accepted the courthouse as completed, and it was dedicated on February 15, with a dance held in the new building topping off the celebration.
According to the plans, the building was to have a mixed architectural style with a predominating Renaissance influence. There were three floors - the first held county administrative offices, including those of the county surveyor, county judge, and the county attorney. The county court was located in the north west corner, occupying a space 40 x 20 feet. The west end of the second floor housed the 34th District Court in an area measuring about 65 x 40 feet.
At the center of the second social life floor was a 20-square-foot opening through which light passed from the imposing dome located above the third floor. Since El Paso did not yet have a federal courthouse, the United States court and other federal offices were located on this floor. The building also contained offices for District Judge T. A. Falvey, the district attorney, the sheriff, and the tax collector. The jury room stood adjacent to the sheriff's office.
All the ceilings were fifteen feet high, and the walnut staircases were six feet wide. The walls and hallways were made of pine and dark maple, and illumination was provided by gas light until electricity was installed in 1909.
Coal and wood-burning stoves provided heat in winter. These, and the abundant use of wood throughout the building, made the potential for fire great. It was a common hazard of the times. On April 8, 1890, a fire, started by a gas jet in the bell tower of the dome, was fortunately extinguished by some alert citizens even before the fire engines could arrive.
Two alabaster statues of a woman, holding a pair of balancing scales, called "Blind Justice," were lifted and placed on top of the building. They survived the razing of the courthouse, and today, one stands near the entrance of Ascarate Park. The "Goddess of Justice" disappeared but was found in 1936 and placed on the east lawn of the courthouse built in 1917.
Other improvements were added - olive-colored curtains were hung, cottonwood trees planted, and plumbing was installed in the fall of 1890. Since the primary mode of transportation consisted of horse-and-carriage, hitching posts were added.
El Paso continued to be a boom town. By 1899, the 34th District Court had become so burdened with work that a second court had to be created - the 41st District Court with James Goggin as judge. In addition, the Texas Legislature established a special court which became the forerunner of the 65th District Court. By 1910, the population of El Paso had reached 40,000, and in 1911, the Legislature created the Eighth Court of Civil Appeals and placed it in El Paso. Needless to say, the 1886 courthouse was beginning to burst at the seams, and its end was not far off.
In 1913, Judge A. S. J. Eylar led a movement to construct a new county building. Many El Pasoans also wanted a structure large enough to enclose a large-scale auditorium. An editorial in the El Paso Herald-Post supported the construction of one large enough to hold conventions and concerts.
Plans for a new courthouse, designed by the architectural firm of Trost & Trost, were accepted by the Commissioners Court on September 23, 1915. The new courthouse would also include a jail and a farmers market. The wings of the building surrounded the 1886 structure which was then razed to make room for the 2,900-seat auditorium. With the demise of the original courthouse, there was no longer a monument to symbolize the hard-fought struggle to gain the county seat.
The auditorium's first use occurred on April 17, 1918 when William McAdoo, the United States Secretary of the Treasury, appeared at a patriotic gathering during World War I to hawk Liberty Bonds for the war effort. Thus it was that the auditorium became known as Liberty Hall.
Everyone would probably agree that the Trost courthouse was majestic, even though it bore no resemblance to the one it had replaced. Twelve mammoth columns across the front presented an elegant and grand appearance. It was a more-than sufficient building for its time, but later its very design would eventually limit its usefulness. The auditorium, which was situated between the two horseshoe wings, split the building in half.
Forty years later, in 1955, when a major remodeling job was undertaken to add more space, it also obliterated the imposing face of the building by completely removing the colonnade. The result was the most bland and uninspiring front to ever grace a public building. Many people spoke against this rape of the old building, but the voices of preservation and foresight were not as organized and vocal as they are today.
As part of the remodeling program, another horseshoe shaped structure was wrapped around the outer walls of Liberty Hall to make way for more office space. Several stories were added to the top of the original Trost building to house the sheriff's department and the county jail on one side, and the city police and city jail on the other.
The primary reason for remodeling was to bring El Paso city government into the building as a co-tenant. As part of the project, the 1888 City Hall, located near the intersection of Kansas and San Antonio Streets, was demolished. The city then moved into the remodeled building which became known as the El Paso City-County Building.
In 1979, city government moved into its own new ten-story City Hall, west of the downtown area. The move did provide some additional space for the county, but it was not a permanent solution. The growing court system and expanding county offices required continual remodeling which resulted in crazy-quilt floor layouts and an endless maze of corridors. Sometimes, a single department would be scattered in several locations and on different floors. Courtrooms and their office personnel were disbursed in hodgepodge fashion throughout the building.
Overcrowding was only part of the problem. By the late 1980's, the building was plagued with an obsolete heating and cooling system, an overloaded electrical system, grossly deficient elevator service, and too-numerous-to-mention fire code violations.
Fortunately, the extent of these problems was not lost on the public. Unless one happened to work in the courthouse, it was almost impossible for the ordinary citizen to find the appropriate office or department. More importantly, every week hundreds of prospective jurors had to assemble in Liberty Hall to report for jury duty. The desperate condition of the Hall, which had not been used for any other public purpose for almost twenty years, convinced the voting public that something new was needed.
In 1985, County Judge Pat O'Rourke formed a blue-ribbon citizens commission to formulate what needed to be done and to galvanize the public's support. His successor, Luther Jones, then led a bond issue election that was overwhelmingly approved. The mandate was that the new courthouse would be built on the same site as the existing one which had been the official seat of county government since 1885.
Before the bond election, architects presented two proposals to the county government. One called for the standing courthouse to remain intact, but to raze Liberty Hall, and build a twenty-story court addition on the site. But during the inspection of the old courthouse, it was discovered that the floor-to-floor heights varied by as much as twelve to eighteen feet. If a new building were located on the site, it would somehow have to match these differing heights, or the old building and the new one would have to be connected with a series of ramps. Another problem confronted the architects - the old building's column spacing was not in keeping with modern office standards. This proposal would have also required the leasing of outside office space during the construction period, and necessitated two massive moves of the courthouse occupants and the office furnishings - one move out of the old building and another back into the new building.
The second proposal called for the complete demolition of the building on the south half of the block, right up to the original back wall of the courthouse. All offices in the old courthouse would continue to function, and the construction of the new one could proceed without interruption. Only one move would be required; then the old building on the north side of the block could be demolished to make way for a new main entrance. This proposal was finally accepted.
Before work began, a geologic survey was made and it revealed a water table between 55 and 60 feet which was high compared to nearby buildings. The reason for this phenomenon is unknown, but deeply-entrenched pillars of concrete proved to be the solution. The construction figures speak for the enormous size of the project. The building is fourteen stories high, counting the basement and the mechanical floor, and contains over 405,000 square feet of usable space. Thirty thousand cubic yards of concrete were used in its frame, and some of the piers underground are over one hundred feet deep and six feet in diameter.
The floor plan called for the high-traffic offices to be placed on the lower floors. These included the district and county clerks, the district and county attorneys, and the Commissioners Court and its offices. The upper floors would house the sixteen trial courts and their offices, the Family Law Courtmasters, the Eighth Court of Appeals, the County Law Library, and a ceremonial courtroom. Three of the floors are vacant and reserved for future use. The building is so designed that two additional floors can be added.
The typical layout of a courtroom and its offices consists of the judge's chamber and conference room, a jury room, and offices for the court secretary or coordinator, the bailiff, and the court reporter. Outside the public entrance to each courtroom are two small interview rooms and a witness room.
In order to accommodate the large number of criminal cases, a prisoner-holding cell is shared by each two courts. The cell is separate and secure from any other part of the building, and can only be reached by elevators used exclusively for transporting prisoners.
The main entrance on the north side of the building presents a striking view of the entire office. Made of Texas red granite, it extends up wards to the height of the fifth floor of the main building, and is built in the traditional shape of a southwestern mission parapet. The entire structure is sheathed in sky-blue glass forming a backdrop for the red granite entrance.
The top floor, or thirteenth story, is known as the Mechanical Penthouse. All the heating and cooling equipment is controlled from the building manager's office located there. If any kind of malfunction occurs, the system sounds an alarm and then prints a report for its maintenance. With the use of state-of-the-art controls, part of the building can be cooled, while the rest might be heated.
To the public and courthouse personnel, one of the most tangible improvements is the elevator service. Five high-speed lobby elevators are in constant use, and gone are the days when taking the stairs was faster. Each elevator has an audio voice which announces each floor and the "up or down" direction.
It has never been an easy task for county government to dedicate huge sums of money to projects the size of new court houses. Sometimes it is a wonder that the project ever got completed at all. Nay-sayers, stonewalling, back-biting, grand-standing, obstructionism, and even outright scandal have always been part of the day-to-day fare in seeing a project like this through to its end. Everyone has his or her own opinion, and wants his or her contribution, great or small, to be a matter of public record. In effect, much of the work becomes construction-by-committee, and changes in the master contract seemingly occur on a daily basis. And there is, of course, no project of a comparable size that ever comes in under-budget, no matter how noble the intentions were in the beginning
But this is how democracy is supposed to work. Somehow, after all the hand-writing and head-butting are over, the finished product turns out to be a proud monument, and that is no less the case here. It is an enjoyable building to work in, and the county has a fitting place for its governmental functions. The future has been adequately provided for, and the public can now see the end result of all its patience and contributed tax dollars. The building is primarily for the public's use, and it has something now with which it can be very pleased.
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Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29