Shackelford Courthouse

The courthouse’s scored plasterwork is one of the building’s artistic highlights. During the courthouse’s restoration, completed in 2001 and financed by the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, the repair to the stonework and interior plaster required some of the more unusual processes to replicate the historic technique. All new plaster incorporated an historic scoring pattern made to appear as stone. The interior scoring was accomplished using a short length of steel automotive brake tubing, cut at an angle to match the profile of the historic scoring lines. The job required scoring at least two thousand linear feet of lines. On the exterior, matching the historic tooling of existing stonework on new stone patches was accomplished with a pointed rock and a small stick. The completed patches are nearly indistinguishable from the courthouse’s original stonework. Another very unique feature is carpet in the District Courtroom with a pattern replicated from the original 1883 carpet found during the 2001 restoration.