Hartley County Moved One Courthouse, Then Built Another

Hartley County's original courthouse did not stay where it was built. The county was created in January 1891, voters chose Hartley as the seat, and a frame courthouse went up on the town square. A second election in October 1896 shifted the seat to Channing, largely because of XIT Ranch interests. The frame building was dismantled, moved, and reconstructed in the new seat.

That traveling courthouse served until commissioners approved a replacement in May 1905. Architect O. G. Roquemore and contractors Solan & Wickens produced the two-story building completed in October 1906 for $10,525. Its Beaux Arts front pairs a triumphal arch with Roman Ionic columns and a native sandstone base. The upper floor held a courtroom and two offices; five offices and a lobby occupied the ground floor.

The building arrived with its own water well and lighting system. A county clerk's vault followed in 1927, then a second vault and jury dormitories in 1935. The courthouse at 900 Main Street became a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1987. Its sandstone and columns mark the place where Channing's county-seat story began with a frame building dismantled for the move.