Courthouse re-dedication planned

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The scaffolding is down, and workers are busy putting the final touches on the restoration of the 1890 Donley County Courthouse to be ready for this Friday’s Saints’ Roost Celebration.

“I think we’re going to make it,” said Daniel Ledbetter, job superintendent with Phoenix I Restoration. “They’re working really hard to get done.”

The job will be 92 to 95 percent complete for the re-dedication of the Panhandle’s oldest operating courthouse.

Some items just won’t be ready though. The judge’s bench will not be completed, but its façade will be in place to give visitors an idea of what it will look like. The ornamental finials won’t be ready for the roof, and some exterior stonework will not be completed.

Painting and carpeting is expected to be finished this week. The stain glass window, which is being restored in Waco at press time, is expected to be returned to Clarendon and installed before Friday, and the tiled hearths of the fireplaces are also slated to be finished.

It is widely anticipated that the courthouse re-dedication will be the highlight of this year’s celebration. The ceremony will start at 9:30 a.m., July 4, on the east side of the square.

“This dedication will be as much a tribute to the generosity of the various donors that made this project possible as it will be a celebration of our country’s history,” said County Judge Jack Hall.

Dignitaries scheduled to participate in the ceremony include US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), State Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), and Texas Historical Commission Executive Director Larry Oaks.

Donley County Historical Commission Chair Jean Stavenhagen will give a history of the courthouse, and remarks will also be given by project administrator John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, Phoenix I president Dale Sellers, and architect Chris Hutson.

The Donley County Historical Commission will also hold a drawing to give away an original oil painting of the courthouse by James Ivey Edwards.

The $4.2 million restoration of the Donley County Courthouse was funded by the State of Texas, Donley County taxpayers, and the generous donations of several foundations, businesses, families, and individuals. For more about the project, visit www.ClarendonOnline.com and click on the courthouse logo.