This was our 253^rd Courthouse in Texas to visit. That means we are at 99.6% of our goal with .4% left to go.

Although formed in 1887, the area of Crane County remained sparsely settled until an oil boom in 1926 brought in thousands of people the following year when Crane County was officially organized. Realtor O.C. Kinnison arrived in the area, opened an office, and platted a townsite for Crane, naming the streets for his sons and daughters. When the county was organized, Crane became the county seat. The county and county seat were named for Baptist preacher and one time president of Baylor University, William Carey Crane. Crane County was one of the last Texas counties organized and the county seat of Crane is the only community in the entire county.

The county’s first courthouse, built in 1927, was a small, two-story Mission-style adobe building. In 1948, the second courthouse was built. A much larger building, it was built of brick and concrete with a red tile roof in a modern Mediterranean style with a large central two-story section flanked by one story wings. The 1927 courthouse was left on the property while the 1948 courthouse was being built and moved afterwards. (During my first visit in 2006, the county judge told me that the 1927 courthouse was moved to the high school football field for use as a storage shed until it was burned down.) Within ten years, the 1948 courthouse was deemed too small, and a large rear addition was constructed in 1958, designed by the architectural firm of Groos, Clift & Ball. The addition drastically changed the building’s appearance and in essence a new courthouse emerged with the former front entrance on the east side being moved to the north side. This courthouse continues to serve the county today. – Terry Jeanson