Community celebrates courthouse centennial, unveils Travis letter plaque

The community gathered for a historic honoring of 100 years of the Stephens County Courthouse and the unveiling of a new plaque featuring the Col. William Barret Travis “Victory or Death” letter.

The event was held Tuesday, April 14 at the Stephens County Courthouse with support from Stephens County, the Sons of the Republic of Texas, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and the Alamo Letter Society.

The Stephens County Courthouse has been listed within the U.S. Department of the Interior National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places since 1997.

The courthouse was designed in 1925 with construction spanning through 1926, according to the federal historic place designation. This was the third courthouse built in Stephens County and was designed by Abilene architect David S. Castle.

When the 1883 courthouse was torn down, the front porch and sandstone entryway were retained as a monument on the southeast end of the block of the new courthouse lot. In each pillar was carved the likeness of an eagle below a lone star.

Dedication ceremonies for the new building were held in July 1926, but county officers did not move into the new courthouse until December 1926.

Helen Haddock, who served Stephens County for 58 years, with 38 years as the county clerk, read a poem entitled “The County Courthouse” about the importance and duty it had for the community.

“God bless this 100-year-old Stephens County Courthouse and please always keep it near. Lord, keep it always open, keep its purpose clear,” Haddock said.

Stephens County Judge Michael Roach recounted a story from the late Bill Thompson, a local attorney in the county. Thompson showed Roach the words etched into the front of the courthouse “Justice, Equity and Peace Administered Alike To All People.”

“He said ‘That wasn't all people when I practiced law here in the 50s in Stephens County.’ It was prior to the Civil Rights Movement. He was just going on about how much times have changed since this was built in 1926 where there are certain rights and obligations that we as a country weren't living up to, that we did live up to, and what that gave me is bright hope for the future,” Roach said. 

Roach has been the county judge since running unopposed in the 2018 primary election and November general election and previously served as the justice of the peace. He said the courthouse and local government play a vital role.

“I'm fond of local government. It's really where the rubber meets the road for citizens,” Roach said. “For all the elected officials that have come before and are here now, thank you for 100 years. We look forward to what all God's going to do in the next 100 and hopefully it's all in the right direction.”

Sons of the Republic of Texas Treasurer General and Stephens County Co-chair of the Alamo Letter Society Ken Raney spoke on the importance of the monument unveiled which included the Feb. 24, 1836 letter from William Barrett Travis.

The “Victory or Death” letter was dispatched through the Mexican Army to Gen. Sam Houston by Cap. Albert Martin. 

“The purpose of this society is, on a 254-county basis, to raise the money to go put a copy... on every county courthouse in Texas. I'm happy to tell you today that we're number 37. We've got a long way to go, but this is a two foot by three foot, 208-pound bronze copy of Travis's letter to the Alamo,” Raney said.

Errol Flannery, the fourth great grandson of David Crockett and president of the David Crockett Chapter of the Sons of the Republic of Texas in Granbury, read the Travis letter and spoke at the dedication.

Raney and his wife Carolyn were presented a commissioned sculpture from J Payne Lara which captures the spirit of the Alamo rider and what he stood for as a man on a mission, carrying the hopes of a new nation.

The Stephens County Commissioners Court approved a $10,750 quote from Sterling Monument Company for the installation of the bronze monument during an August 2025 meeting.

The Breckenridge High School band closed things off with a playing of “Texas, Our Texas” which capped off a recognition of the history of Stephens County and Texas history and a legacy which will live on.