![]() ![]() The courthouse has experienced several renovations and restorations over the years, the most recent in 2012. While writing, I could not help but make comparisons to the 1881 Spring Hill Ranch House I had toured at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas, also a limestone Second Empire-style construction. This limestone edifice is designed in the French Second Empire style by Waco architect W. The Hood County Courthouse, completed in 1891, replaced earlier log and limestone structures that were situated on the town square. When planning a visit, be sure to download the Historic Granbury Town Square Map. The courthouse square reminds me of similar small-town squares I have visited throughout the South, such as those in Dahlonega, Georgia, and Monroeville, Alabama. Map Credit: Historic Granbury Merchant’s Association The Hood County Courthouse Historic District, as well as many individual structures within the district, has been designated for preservation as a site on the National Register of Historic Places. Granbury is the county seat of Hood County, named after John Bell Hood, another Confederate General who led the Texas Brigade. Two historical figures, David Crockett‘s widow Elizabeth and son Robert, did settle in Hood County in the 1850s, and plenty of documentation exists to support this claim. Local lore is good fun, but it always makes me wonder, who makes up this stuff? Three well-known local legends (two even make the city website) allege that the outlaws Jesse James, John Wilkes Booth, and Billy the Kid did not die according to historical accounts, but rather moved and lived for many years in the Granbury Texas area. ![]() Granbury’s history is full of folklore and legends. Twenty-nine years after his death at the Battle of Franklin, Tennessee, General Granberry’s body was disinterred, moved, and reburied in the Texas town that bears his name. It seems the town of Granbury was part of the prevalent postbellum wave across the South to honor officers who died fighting for the Lost Cause. Granberry was a native of Lorman, Mississippi, and studied law at Baylor University in Waco, but no evidence exists of any connection to the town that bears his name. Fortunately, the show will go on in a 309-seat, elegantly appointed renovation of a classic Texas opera house theater.Situated about 80 miles southwest of Dallas, the town of Granbury Texas, was founded in 1887 and named after Confederate Brigadier General Hiram B. In fact, the entire building has been rededicated to the theater after a rescue from deterioration by the Granbury Opera Association in 1975. Today’s productions, however, don’t require a stiff drink at intermission to get through the second act. Constructed of native limestone with decorative tin details, the two-story structure served vaudeville acts and musical productions on the second floor and a saloon below. The Granbury occupies the Texas Historic Landmark Kerr’s Opera House (renamed the Granbury Opera House after restoration) built in 1886 and located on the historic Granbury town square. Be warned, curmudgeons and cranky critics! You WILL crack a smile. The Granbury is home to the Granbury Theater Company, a local community theater with a mission to “enrich the community with high quality entertainment that warms the heart, uplifts the spirit, and tells worthy stories”. The elegantly restored Granbury Opera House is on a mission to make you cry…with joy or laughter, depending on whether you’re sitting through one of their musical productions or entertaining comedy performances. ![]()
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