on SH 137 about 19 miles northwest of Big Lake in Stiles
The leftmost image in our header is the 1911 courthouse that still exists but is not being used. The rightmost image
is the present courthouse.
Texas Ghost-towns:
Stiles, Texas - Contains history of
the town and photos of the courthouse.
County: Reagan
City: Stiles
Current Use: Ruin
Owner: County
Service Dates:
Construction Date:1911
Architect: William Martin
Contractor: William Martin, Comanche
Style:
Square Footage:
RTHL Date:1969
SAL Date:1981
Description: 2-story rusticated native limestone structure, round-arch entry vestibules, symmetrical plan; detached
stone jail and stone vault.
Substantial Modifications: Kansas City, Mexico & Orient Railroad bypassed community in 1910; county seat moved to
Big Lake in 1925 when population swelled following 1923 oil strike at nearby Santa Rita No. 1.
Centennial Marker:
Site of the first court house built in Reagan County.
The following officials were installed May 8, 1903
Joseph J. Boyd, judge,
J. B. Lucas, clerk,
Henry Japson, sheriff and tax col.,
Frank Ramsey, treasurer,
W.C. Shamlin, surveyor,
M. D. Sutherland, assessor,
Commissioners
Jno. E. Gardner,
W. C. Castlebury,
A. J. Kerchville, G. F. Kirk.
The county seat was moved in 1925 to Big Lake.
Built in 1911 from stone quarried half a mile away. Cost $20,000. Used until 1925 when the county seat moved to Big
Lake. For many years after, it was a community center and (for one year) a school. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark--
1969
The old Stiles Courthouse now stands alone on a fading courthouse square in Stiles, Texas. The white board fence
that once surrounded the courthouse property and the town buildings that circumscribed the square have all disappeared
since the County Seat was moved twenty miles to the south of Stiles over fifty years ago. The stone courthouse and
associated records vault are the only survivors of this early community that has now faded into the desolate plains of
West Texas.
The courthouse is a square building, 50' long at each elevation. The four facades of the two-story limestone
rusticated structure are identical and symmetrically organized in an A-B-A pattern. The center section of the facade
consists of a projecting one-story stone portico with arched entranceway. A pair of 4-over-4 single-hung windows are
located in the projection continuation above the portico. A wooden balustrade originally capped the portico but has
since been removed. On either side of the portico are two 4-over-4 windows, one on each floor.
The building has a hip roof with four small gables located over the central projection on each facade. A small
semicircular window is located within the pediment of the gables. The cornice is simply detailed with an enclosed
soffit. Four stone chimneys penetrate the roof at the outside corners. The roof structure was originally crowned by a
cupola which has since been removed.
The first floor interior plan is a Greek cross with intersecting center hallways and four corner rooms measuring 16'
square. The stairway is located in the west hallway. The courtroom and two other offices are located on the second
floor. Interior detailing includes plaster walls, simple door/window trim and baseboard, transoms over doorways and a
wooden chair rail in the courtroom. The ceiling on both floors is pressed tin and the floors are wooden. A small raised
platform is the only distinguishing feature in the courtroom.
A limestone records vault is located to the east of the main structure. It was originally built to provide fireproof
storage for the earlier frame courthouse that occupied the site. It has a stone barrel vault, but was originally roofed
over with a shingle roof. The steel vault doors are still in possession of the owner.
The Stiles Courthouse was the first substantial courthouse built in Reagan County. The rusticated stone complex,
consisting of the courthouse and jail and a separate stone vault, was built on the Public Square in 1911. The four
symmetrical facades of the courthouse were a source of pride for Reagan County citizens until the county seat was moved
to Big Lake in 1925. Since that time, the courthouse has been used as a community center for parties, barbecues and
dances. It was used as a school for one year.
Stiles was the only town in Reagan County when that county was organized in May, 1903. Located on Centralia Draw,
Stiles is approximately in the center of the county. Property for the Public Square was deeded to the county by G. W.
(Rome) Shields for $579.44. The first courthouse built on the square was a small frame building costing less than $500.
The next year, $5000 in bonds were voted to build a more substantial courthouse containing a jail, and a separate stone
vault. A subsequent bond election in November, 1910, provided $20,000 in 40-year bonds for a two-story stone building
on the Public Square. The first contractor hired to build the courthouse was August Balfanz of San Angelo. When Balfanz
had failed to begin work on the structure within 30 days, the court rescinded his contract on February 2, 1911. The next
day the court awarded the contract to William Martin of Comanche, Texas. Mr. Martin was required to begin work
immediately and have the building completed in eight months The new courthouse was finished and inspected by the
Commissioners Court on October 25, 1911. The old frame courthouse was sold at public auction for $107.50 on November 13,
1911, to the highest bidder, T. D. Lucas.
The new courthouse was built of native stone quarried from a hillside a half a mile from the site. The stones were
hauled to the site in mule- and donkey-drawn wagons by Tom Lucas, a Mr. Sheppard, and A. H. Garner. Mr. Garner, a new
resident of the county, was a stonemason by trade. He was unable to work on the courthouse in that capacity, however,
because he belonged to the Stonemasons Union, and the courthouse was not built with union labor.
In 1912 the Kansas City, Mexico and Orient Railroad planned to build a line up Central Draw from San Angelo through
Stiles to Fort Stockton. A prominent land owner in Reagan County refused to sell a right-of-way, so the line swung
twenty miles to the south, bypassing Stiles. Big Lake was organized in 1912, as a result of the railroad, and had
reached the size of Stiles by 1919 In 1923 the famed Santa Rita oil well was brought in west of Big Lake, near the
railroad. Big Lake boomed, and was voted the new county seat by a margin of 292 to 94 in 1925. Since then the town of
Stiles has slowly dwindled. Its old courthouse, however, remained a central gathering place for the West Texas community
for many years.
It was last occupied in the early 1950s and has remained unoccupied until this day. An advanced state of
deterioration has prompted the present owner, Reagan County, to pursue restoration of the structure for future community
use.
Bibliography on file in the National Register
