Williamson County currently is celebrating the one-hundred year anniversary of various significant historic buildings this year! Quite a few of the celebration activities will surely target the complex history as well as customs associated with the county. The Williamson County Courthouse and the Georgetown Light and Water Works building, the City’s initial municipally-owned utility center, were both erected in 1911.
The Williamson Museum offered the Sun City Texas Photography Club the opportunity to reproduce 15 pictures taken in 1911 within and near the courthouse. Photography Club participants were absolutely free to utilize their ingenuity to capture a color “Now” picture of a very similar scenario captured in grayscale “Then”. The “Then and Now” project is displayed to the public at the Williamson Museum for 6 months.
The Williamson County Courthouse is a Beaux Arts structure. Construction was started and cornerstone laid in 1910, and the building was dedicated and opened to the public in 1911. Through the past century, the courthouse has been the center of many important events in our county’s history. Most of the 26th District courtroom remains as it was in 1923, when the county’s district attorney, Dan Moody, became the first attorney in the country to successfully prosecute a member of the Ku Klux Klan. In the 1920′s, most counties had at least one elected official who was a member of the Klan. Not a single Klan member was elected in Texas after that trial. Segregation was evident when signs on walls indicated “seats for janitors only” and “whites only” water fountains. These signs were painted over in the mid-1960′s.
The courthouse has had three major renovations and with the help of the Texas Historical Commission and the dedication of preservation-minded county citizens and officials, the last renovation restored the building to its original 1910 splendor. Most prominent among the changes to the interior is the famous 26th District Courtroom, where D.A. Dan Moody successfully tried the Ku Klux Klan in 1924, which has been restored to a two-story courtroom with a balcony.
To celebrate the Courthouse, the Williamson Museum is offering commemorative Christmas ornaments. The Georgetown Visitor Information Center is offering the fifth in a series of collectible, limited edition Christmas ornaments, a replica of the Georgetown Light & Water Works Building (which is the current police station). Proceeds from the sale of the ornament series will go toward future downtown holiday decorations and lighting. Each year there will be a new and limited edition of these high quality brass ornaments offered through the Georgetown Main Street Program. The 2007 inaugural piece of the Williamson County Courthouse to commemorate the completion of the restoration and rededication of the courthouse is sold out, as well as the 2008 Palace Theatre and the 2010 Main Street ornaments, but a few of the 2009 M.B. Lockett Building are still available.
The Georgetown Light and Water Works building is on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built in 1911 after Georgetown voters approved bonds for the new plant in 1910. Initially, coal-powered steam engines and later diesel engines were used to generate electricity and pump water at the plant. The facility generated power for the city until 1945 when Georgetown signed an agreement with the Lower Colorado River Authority to purchase power. The building continued to be used by the utility until 1985 when it was renovated to become the City’s police station. An antique steam whistle from the Georgetown Light and Water Works plant was recently refurbished. The whistle was last used in 1921 when the plant converted from steam to diesel generators.
The Sun City Texas Photography Club is focused on helping its participants grow to be significantly better photographers. The Club provides extensive instruction that includes monthly training programs, critiquing of photos, training seminars along with field outings and are variable enough to be appealing to photographers with all degree of expertise. In addition to the “Then and Now” special photo show the Club created for the Courthouse centennial display at the Williamson Museum on the historic square in the downtown area of Georgetown, the Club’s instructive courses consist of photography fundamentals, aspects of composition and print making inside the electronic digital darkroom. Photography lovers of all degrees are encouraged to exhibit their own photographic work around Sun City in addition to the Georgetown area.
Before facing retirement, make certain to explore the retirement community in Georgetown, Sun City Texas. Sample the lifestyle by visiting and see the many ways to continue learning, remain active and experience an experience an exciting life.