So it all began in December, 2010, when I asked Aaron, then a new interest, if he was interested in going to see the Trail of Lights in La Grange, TX, since the one here in Austin was discontinued. He said yes, and away we went. I knew that La Grange also had a fabulous cemetery, so we killed time waiting for dark at the cemetery and then at the courthouse. The courthouse in La Grange (home of ZZ Top and the original "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" movie) is gorgeous and as we were admiring it, I commented that my parents had started a tour of Texas courthouses, but had never finished because they moved to Colorado. He said, "Let's do that!" And so it began.
We quickly located web sites that list all the county seats (254 of them, the most in one state in the country), and I found an old Texas road map and proceeded to highlight all of the county seats so that we had a visual to work with. Aaron laminated it for us and as we toodle down the 2-lane country roads, we highlight with a yellow permanent marker where we go. We have found that it's a GREAT way to see Texas and to learn about our state. And just last week I bought Texas peaches in the store and the sticker said Pittsburgh and Aaron and I know where Pittsburgh is, what it's courthouse looks like, and that it's got a big Pilgrim's Pride chicken factory there! We would never have made that connection without this cool tour.
We have also found that if we're lucky enough to go on weekdays, that people who work in the courthouses are more than eager to share stories, give us tours, or just point out highlights and historical facts to us! We've met a county tax assessor, a chief juvenile probation officer, and numerous secretaries.
We've become pretty good at sussing out courthouses, once in the town, although the bigger towns / cities definitely require the help of our smartphones! We look for Main street, 1st street, and large trees in a group. We've also become interested in the old jails and have gotten good at finding them too - they're not always next to the courthouse or even in the central square. Bars on the windows are pretty good clues when we find ourselves wondering about an old, possible building.
Our friends find this whole thing amusing and are very supportive - Courtney, in Lubbock, told her brother about our mission and he saw a Texas Courthouses book at a garage sale and picked it up for us! Some of my friends have seen our pictures on Facebook and have commented that that town is where their family is from and then shared family memories with us - how cool is that?
So we hope you enjoy this blog and find it almost as entertaining as we do! Cheers!
We quickly located web sites that list all the county seats (254 of them, the most in one state in the country), and I found an old Texas road map and proceeded to highlight all of the county seats so that we had a visual to work with. Aaron laminated it for us and as we toodle down the 2-lane country roads, we highlight with a yellow permanent marker where we go. We have found that it's a GREAT way to see Texas and to learn about our state. And just last week I bought Texas peaches in the store and the sticker said Pittsburgh and Aaron and I know where Pittsburgh is, what it's courthouse looks like, and that it's got a big Pilgrim's Pride chicken factory there! We would never have made that connection without this cool tour.
We have also found that if we're lucky enough to go on weekdays, that people who work in the courthouses are more than eager to share stories, give us tours, or just point out highlights and historical facts to us! We've met a county tax assessor, a chief juvenile probation officer, and numerous secretaries.
We've become pretty good at sussing out courthouses, once in the town, although the bigger towns / cities definitely require the help of our smartphones! We look for Main street, 1st street, and large trees in a group. We've also become interested in the old jails and have gotten good at finding them too - they're not always next to the courthouse or even in the central square. Bars on the windows are pretty good clues when we find ourselves wondering about an old, possible building.
Our friends find this whole thing amusing and are very supportive - Courtney, in Lubbock, told her brother about our mission and he saw a Texas Courthouses book at a garage sale and picked it up for us! Some of my friends have seen our pictures on Facebook and have commented that that town is where their family is from and then shared family memories with us - how cool is that?
So we hope you enjoy this blog and find it almost as entertaining as we do! Cheers!
