Randall County Courthouse Referendum
Year: 2008
Location: Canyon, Texas
Status: Passed
Save it or raze it? On November 4, 2008, Randall County voters chose to save their historic Texas courthouse by a margin of 53%.
Credit: CanyonMainstreet.com
The referendum would authorize the Commissioners Court to use Randall County tax dollars to restore - rather than tear down - the Neo-Classical Randall County Courthouse, which was built in 1909 and has been abandoned since 1994.
Initially, some county officials claimed it would cost only $92,000 to demolish the building. However, another estimate commissioned by a local lawyer totaled $658,000.
The 23,000-square-foot courthouse, located in the small Texas Panhandle town of Canyon, is eligible for grants from the Texas Historical Commission's Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, which has received $145 million in grant funds since its inception in 1999. Overall, Texas has more historic courthouses than any other state, with 243 that are eligible for the program.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation placed Texas courthouses on its 1998 list of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. In the past nine years, the organization's Southwest Office has awarded about $100,000 in planning grants to rural county courthouses.
Local Reaction
Courthouse Fate for Vote
Amarillo Globe-News, August 6, 2008
The fate of the planned Randall County Courthouse restoration will be left to the voters.
Letter to the Editor: Vote for Restoration
Canyon News, October 16, 2008
The 1909 Randall County Courthouse has not looked like this since 1945, when previous Commissioners removed the clock tower. Now we have the opportunity to bring it back to its original glory at a cost of only twenty cents on the dollar.
Preserve Part of County History
Amarillo Globe-News, October 19, 2008
If Randall County is not going to use the courthouse after building the new Justice Center, why save it? I decided to investigate the "pros" and "cons" of saving the old courthouse. The purpose of this essay is to encourage voters of Randall County to do the same. If you do so, it just might change your mind as to how you vote.
Courthouse Question Divides Randall
Amarillo Globe-News, October 24, 2008
With Election Day fast approaching, deep divisions have formed between two groups in their interpretation of a Randall County Courthouse ballot question.
Randall County Texas Seeks to Demolish Historic 1909 Courthouse Despite Funds for Restoration Being Raised
Forbes.com, October 27, 2008
Findings from a volunteer committee support restoration of the historic 1909 Randall County Courthouse, an issue on the November 4 ballot, according to Mark Wilson with the Committee for Randall County Courthouse Restoration, which consists of attorneys, accountants, bankers, a retired professor in marketing and finance and others.
Letter to the Editor: Support Restoration of Courthouse
Canyon News, November 2, 2008
The arguments against restoring the Randall County Courthouse don't add up. We are not being asked to approve a tax increase for this project, and it will cost more to tear it down than renovate the exterior. Why is casting away something historic and significant so easy to do for some?
Letter to the Editor: Randall County Courthouse Project a Waste of Money
Canyon News, November 2, 2008
I cannot believe we are still fighting about the rundown, useless courthouse in the Square. I remember when I was in high school we were fighting about this issue and maybe it's time to let it go.
Update
On November 4, 2008, Randall County voters approved the courthouse referendum by a margin of 53%.
According to a post-election article appearing in the Canyon News on November 6, 2008, more than 65 percent of Randall County voters made it to the polls for the election, and the courthouse proposition received 23,967 votes total. However, because the vote was a nonbinding referendum, commissioners still have to approve using taxpayer monies to restore the building and decide whether to follow the voter's mandate.
"You're darn right [I'm going to support the vote]," Commissioner Bob Karrh was quoted as saying in a post-election article appearing in the Amarillo Globe-News on November 6, 2008. "They spoke, and we're going to do what they said."
