I love images of the Old Hidalgo County courthouse in Edinburg. Of all the courthouses in the history of Hidalgo County (founded 1837) it was by far the most beautiful.
The first was constructed in 1837 in present day Hidalgo. The second was a tent(s) rapidly constructed on October 13 and 14, 1908 as an armed wagon train, filled with court records taken from the first courthouse, approached undeveloped open land in present day Edinburg. The third built in 1908 was a two story wooden building that served as a temporary courthouse. The fourth courthouse, shown here in the Robert Runyon photo, stood in the center of Edinburg's main plaza from 1910 to 1954, when the present day fifth courthouse was constructed.
Moments ago, the midnight hour passed and October 14 began. This marks the actual 100 year anniversary of the early morning arrival of the court records to their present location in Edinburg. On that day immediate action was taken to construct a permanent courthouse that would protect the records of a growing county.
It is an opportune time as any to publicly articulate what I have been privately pondering. The growth of modern Hidalgo County and the current state (crowded and deteriorating) of the present courthouse demand that our community and all its leaders begin planning the construction of a new courthouse. In private I have already initiated the discussion. Additionally I have instructed my staff to begin the necessary research to see if our office might play a role in coming legislative sessions if eventual construction is considered. Any such undertaking will take a total community effort from all levels of government. Obviously, costs will be at the forefront of our discussion. Please join the discussion and share your thoughts with me or my office in coming days. They will be of great value in reaching a consensus on the timeliness and viability of such a project.
1 comments:
Are you saying that there are plans to make a new courthouse in Edinburg, if so suggest not to make another eye sore like the current courthouse. Lets make a courthouse that reflects the image of this county. Maybe going back to the old courthouse, that was demolished, would be a good way to start looking for that image.
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