About the Texas Courthouse
Trail
By Dave & Renee Fulp
The seeds for Texas
Courthouse Trail were planted years ago when we made a trip to visit Anderson,
the county seat of Grimes County. The unique Grimes County Courthouse, not to
mention the nice assortment of antique stores, a closed up old drugstore and a
vintage bookstore, intrigued us. A former county
Original Pen & Ink - 2006 Johanna
Jenkins
(Click to enlarge)
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commissioner, and proprietor of the bookstore
shared some of the history of Anderson and the courthouse. We were impressed
with the small county's efforts in renovating and preserving the courthouse,
and continue to visit Anderson whenever we can.
In our travels
throughout Texas we had seen many fine county courthouses, but it was not until
we took a trip from The Woodlands, Texas to New Mexico, via El Paso, that we
got serious about taking photos of as many of them as possible. We found that
getting off the Interstate and taking the "back roads" was a much more
enjoyable way to travel and were excited to learn a little about each of the
courthouses and county seats we visited.
We've visited and
photographed the county courthouse in all of Texas' 254 counties and are
pleased to present some of our better photos here. At first we would be most
disappointed when weather, trees or the angle of the sun would prevent us from
getting the "best shot" of a particular courthouse. Now, we actually enjoy the
prospect of getting to make a return trip someday, as we've realized that
collecting great photos of courthouses is not the only important aspect of this
project. We've learned that even more rewarding is the journey itself, spending
quality time together while doing something both of us love and enjoy.
Will we ever get finished? Well… yes and no.
The answer is
yes… because we have visited and taken at least some photos of every
current and retired courthouse in Texas.
The answer is no…
because, considering, light, the season, and weather, we have yet to get that
"perfect' image of every courthouse... even though we're "pretty close" with at
least 175 courthouse views. Also, renovations continue throughout the state,
giving us renewed subjects to photograph all the time. But most
importantly… we're having so much fun we're not sure we want the journey
to end.
About Dave
& Renee Fulp
 Just a few years away from 50
(we're NOT saying which way) Dave is pleased to finally have reached a point in
his life that allows him to seriously pursue a photographic study of this
depth. Dave got the "camera bug" as a photojournalism student at New Mexico
State University. Inspired by one of his photography professors, Don "Doc"
Martin and Dave's brother Jim, Dave honed his skills while doing photo
perspectives of New Cave, and the towns of Hurley, Truth or Consequences and
Los Alamos, all in New Mexico.
In recent years Dave's sports images,
mainly of professional golfers, have been widely published and he's had the
opportunity to return to New Mexico for photographic studies of the ghost towns
of Winston & Chloride, Hillsboro and Lake Valley.
While our
photographs are mostly of the exteriors of Texas county courthouses, Renee's
interest in Texas history originated more from the inside of the courthouse.
Renee's Texas roots run deep and many years ago her father succeeded in
infecting her with his passion of compiling the family genealogy. Her research
over the years has led her to the archive section inside many Texas county
courthouses. This journey has given us an excellent opportunity to actually
re-trace the original footsteps her family made as they entered into Texas in
the 1800's.
An accomplished graphic artist, Renee also compiles our
site visit notes and does the pre and post-trip research necessary to make a
project like this possible.
Acknowledgements
It would be impossible to
individually thank or acknowledge everyone who has been so gracious and helpful
to us as we travel the state and take the photos and compile our research.
However, we simply must mention the following.
Texas Historical
Commission
Not only a wonderful online resource (see resources section)
but we've learned much and had wonderful cooperation from staff, which have
spent numerous hours opening up their archives and assisting us with our
research.
Contact
Information:
Dave or Renee Fulp
17 Paintedcup
Ct.
The Woodlands, Texas 77380
281.773.0979
Copy the address from
the image below to contact us via email.
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