By Andy Rhodes, The Medallion Managing Editor
A couple hours before the July 2024 Mason County Courthouse rededication ceremony, a community parade offered a charming preview of things to come. Locals lined the historic courthouse square in support of family and friends on colorful floats celebrating rodeo queens, peach festivals, and veterans’ groups.
By 11:30 a.m., the courthouse lawn was packed with nearly 700 of these same well-wishers to celebrate the building’s grand reopening. The handsome 1909 courthouse recently underwent a $17 million restoration project overseen and funded in part by the Texas Historical Commission’s (THC) Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program (THCPP).
The celebratory scene was quite a contrast from the night of February 4, 2021, when Bearden received a call reporting flames billowing out of the courthouse’s second-story window. The fire, later determined to be arson, destroyed most of the building’s interior while sparing the exterior walls.
The courthouse had already been slated for a THCPP restoration, which provided a slight silver lining: historic furnishings and records were removed and the building had been fully documented. After the fire, Bearden commented that the community and the building “would be like the mythical bird, Phoenix. The courthouse (will) rise from the ashes!”
The crowd gathered for the rededication sustained this revitalizing energy and offered enthusiastic cheers for the speakers commemorating the newly restored courthouse. Gathered under towering pecan trees, they admired the new cupola with a reconstructed clock tower, anchored by a Classical Revival pediment and stately columns adorning the entrance.
Other features that draw attention are the white floor tile, original to the 1909 courthouse, and the rebuilt furniture in the courtroom. “It’s breathtaking,” Hardin says. “Several pieces on the judge’s bench are hand carved, making it a real showstopper.”
With the restored courthouse now standing as a bright beacon on the town square, Hardin encourages Texans to visit Mason to experience the building and its surroundings.
“Come see us at the courthouse while you’re here,” she said. “Mason County is full of history!”
Mason Memories
Indeed, travelers can plan an entire weekend visit to Mason to experience its historical attractions. The city’s origins are traced to Fort Mason, established by the U.S. Army in 1851 to protect German immigrants settling in the nearby hills and valleys. Its most recognizable service member was Robert E. Lee, who spent a few months at the fort. Located less than a mile south of the courthouse, the Fort Mason Museum includes a replica officers’ quarters and a THC centennial marker.
Exhibits provide more information about Lee and his last command post in the U.S. Army along with fellow soldiers Albert Sidney Johnson, John Bell Hood, and Edmund Kirby Smith. During the war, the Confederacy controlled the fort, but it remained virtually unmanned. Families often sought shelter and protection within its walls during Native American encounters.
After the fort was decommissioned, much of the cut sandstone from its buildings was repurposed for structures in the historic downtown business district. Visitors can admire these buildings and learn more about local history at the Mason Square Museum. The museum features exhibits dedicated to the area’s famous topaz stones (including the state gem of Texas, blue topaz—a Mason County exclusive) to the cattle feud called the Hoodoo War (1875–76), involving posses, vigilantes, and law enforcement factions, ultimately resulting in the death of at least 12 men.
Around the corner on the square is the refurbished 1928 Odeon Theater, which still shows first-run films and stages live performances. Walt Disney’s film “Old Yeller” premiered at the Odeon in 1957—native son Fred Gipson wrote the story in Mason.
Just behind the courthouse is the Mason County Jail, a small jailhouse built in 1894 from the brown sandstone available in the nearby hills. Reportedly still in service, the modified Romanesque Revival building, a Recorded Texas Historical Landmark, makes for a nice photo op with its massive entry arch and central tower.
With all the historical attractions on the square, visitors can stick around and hang their hats for the night at the Red Door Bed and Breakfast. Built in 1894, the inn occupies a row of historic buildings, consisting of bedrooms that were once bank offices and hardwood that was once a dance floor between the walls of a former saloon.
It’s worth setting aside at least an hour to experience the stunning Seaquist House, just a couple blocks north of the square. The stonework on this massive mansion is breathtaking—from the multi-hued exterior walls to elaborate individual carvings to the sturdy stone fence. A step inside reveals similarly impressive attention to detail, with intricate wood-carved designs, Eastlake hardware, and colorful stained-glass windows.
Construction on the house began in 1886 by Thomas Broad, an English master stonemason. The house was later sold to Swedish immigrant Oscar Seaquist, whose family lived there until about 20 years ago, when it became abandoned and suffered from animal infestation and vandalism. In 2014, the Seaquist House was placed on Preservation Texas’ Most Endangered Places list; it has since been taken off the list after being carefully restored by the Seaquist House Foundation, which received Preservation Texas’ Honor Award in 2023.
Just south of the courthouse square is a stone 1887 school building housing the Mason County Museum. The site features exhibits interpreting county development and frontier life, including a travel trunk of John O. Meusebach, founder of Fredericksburg and peacemaker with the Comanches.
For those with a little extra time still seeking historical adventures, head an hour west to Fort McKavett State Historic Site. Standing atop a windswept remote hill, this 150-year-old fort is considered one of the best preserved and most intact examples of a military post from the Texas Indian Wars (1850–1875). Restored structures include the officers’ quarters, barracks, hospital, and schoolhouse in addition to ruins of several buildings, most notably the commanding officer’s quarters.