Welcome to Somervell County
TXGenWeb Established:
March 13, 1875
Parent County: Hood, Johnson
County Seat: Glen Rose
TXGenWeb County Coordinator: Vicki Shaffer
The first courthouse on the
square was completed around 1892 and burned down in 1893. The second
courthouse on the square, the present day structure, was ordered
built by the commissioners' court in 1893 and completed
late
in the same year for a cost of $13,500. This courthouse employed
elements of the Romanesque Revival architectural style. The building
also featured a mansard roof treatment and ornamental iron crestings
which are characteristic of the General Grant style. The courthouse
was constructed of locally queried limestone. In 1902 a tornado
damaged the courthouse and many other buildings on the town square.
The courthouse roof and clock tower were severely damaged. At that
time, the small rural county didn't have the financial resources to
properly repair the roof or replace the clock tower. A modest roof
repair was made by local craftsmen which omitted the clock and some
of the ornate details of the original roof. In 1986 the Somervell
County Commissioners' Court voted to restore the county courthouse.
The work was completed by Ray J. Miller Construction Company of
Meridian under the direction of architects Huckabee and Donham of
Stephenville, Texas. Final cost of restoring the building was
$601,111.20.
Charles Barnard had a trading
post and grist mill on the Paluxy River in the 1860's called
Barnard's Mill. As the community came into the 1870's this trading
center for Indians, buffalo hunters, and early pioneers began to
fade, so Barnard sold his business to Major T. C. Jordan about 1871.
From this property Jordan founded the present site of Glen Rose,
dividing it into blocks and lots with streets. He donated the public
square and started the building of a courthouse after the county was
established in 1875.
Somervell County Mail List To join TXSOMERV list send mail to
TXSOMERV-request@rootsweb.com
with the single word subscribe in the
message subject and body.
Look-ups and VolunteersWould you like
to help us?
Please contact Vicki
if you would like to do look-ups for Somervell County.
Somervell County Texas Vital Records
Somervell Co &
District Clerk
107 NE Vernon Street -
P.O. Box 1098
Glen Rose, TX 76043-1098
254 897-4427 Fax 254-897-3233
Email
clerk@glenrose.org
late
in the same year for a cost of $13,500. This courthouse employed
elements of the Romanesque Revival architectural style. The building
also featured a mansard roof treatment and ornamental iron crestings
which are characteristic of the General Grant style. The courthouse
was constructed of locally queried limestone. In 1902 a tornado
damaged the courthouse and many other buildings on the town square.
The courthouse roof and clock tower were severely damaged. At that
time, the small rural county didn't have the financial resources to
properly repair the roof or replace the clock tower. A modest roof
repair was made by local craftsmen which omitted the clock and some
of the ornate details of the original roof. In 1986 the Somervell
County Commissioners' Court voted to restore the county courthouse.
The work was completed by Ray J. Miller Construction Company of
Meridian under the direction of architects Huckabee and Donham of
Stephenville, Texas. Final cost of restoring the building was
$601,111.20.
RockCreek
