Round Top Courthouse Now Appears Safe From Demolition

The historic Round Top Precinct Courthouse appears to be safe for now.

At their meeting last Thursday, Feb. 13, the Fayette County Commissioners Court held a discussion about the possibility of designating the Round Top courthouse as a historical site. At that meeting, two Round Top area residents, Mark Neeley and Kathy Gau, expressed alarm at recent comments by Round Top Mayor Judith Vincent, who said the Courthouse may need to be dismantled and rebuilt due to structural problems.

But the biggest news out of that meeting came from County Attorney James Herbrich, who said he believes that Fayette County still owns the Courthouse. As reported last week in the Record, former County Judge Dan Beck signed a deed in 1984 that purportedly transferred ownership of the building from Fayette County to the Town of Round Top. But there is no record of the Commissioners Court ever authorizing the transfer.

Former County Attorney John Wied was in office during that time, and he agrees with Herbrich.

“Make no mistake: Fayette County owns the Fayette County Precinct Courthouse in Round Top,” Wied said to the Commissioners Court. “Some want to dispute that. If they want to, they can go downstairs to the district courtroom and tell that story to a jury – a jury not of beleaguered Round Top residents trying to save the precinct courthouse, but the jury will be picked from all of those in Fayette County.

“That courthouse stands as a symbol, a memorial, to the history, traditions and culture of not just Round Top but Fayette County, Austin’s Colony, the Texas Revolution, of the Civil War,” Wied said. “There’s a great history in Round Top of resisting the Confederate conscription parties, and all wars since. We’re facing a year of commemorating the United States. Round Top has always stood for the Union. The Round Top Fourth of July Parade is advertised as the oldest Fourth of July Parade west of the Mississippi River.”

“People come to Round Top and say, ‘How quaint, what a beautiful landscape, we want to move here,’” he added. “But then you’ve got an aggressive few who say, ‘Wait a minute, let’s remake it in our own image.’ No, they didn’t move to Round Top to make is Disneyworld Main Street.”

The Commissioners Court has been somewhat divided recently on other issues. But they expressed unity on this topic. All four commissioners stated a desire to preserve the Courthouse.

“I would much rather people know Round Top for the historical courthouse than what I think is an eyesore - all the stores there,” said Pct. 3 Commissioner Harvey Berckenhoff.

“You see the Round Top Fourth of July parade every year, and it wouldn’t be the same without that building in the background when the canon goes off,” said Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom.

“You look around the country and how they’re trying to change history and take down historical markers because the loud voice of a few changes the way people believe things,” said Pct. 4 Commissioner Drew Brossmann. “If we have any kind of authority to preserve what we have here in Fayette County, I would love to do that.”

“We think we own it, the County Attorney thinks we do,” McBroom said. “We need to figure out a solution.”

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” said Pct. 2 Commissioner Luke Sternadel.

Later that afternoon, the Round Top Town Council held a meeting and a decided to pause Phase Two of their Town Square renovation project until after the Fourth of July celebration in 2026. Moreover, the Council agreed that the courthouse should be restored intact and not demolished and rebuilt.

The move follows a wave of public protest over Mayor Judith Vincent’s suggestion that the Courthouse might have to be taken apart and rebuilt due to structural issues. Vincent spoke about the project at a town hall meeting three weeks ago. The Record did not attend that meeting, but several who did were quite alarmed by what they heard.

In an interview with the Record last week, and during the Council meeting last Thursday, Vincent stressed that the Phase Two renovations could range from painting and replacing the windows to a complete rebuild, which she called the most extreme option. She said whatever choice the Council makes would depend on a structural analysis, which has not yet taken place.

“I think it would be really wise if the Council would establish a position that said the town supports renovation of the building to its current state or a similar state, so we don’t see massive changes, and that it would oppose the possibility of it being demolished and rebuilt,” said Louis Sellers, one of the residents in the audience.

“Whether it’s owned by the County or owned by the Town, you can take this position and say, ‘We’d like this structure to remain relatively unchanged,” he added.

Vincent had stated that renovations (or possibly a rebuild in the most extreme case) were necessary due to “neglect” over the years. Some in the audience at Thursday’s town council meeting took exception to that comment.

Back in 1935, a group of Round Top women formed the Do Your Duty Club (DYD) aimed at maintaining and beautifying the town square and courthouse. They planted grass, shrubs and all the trees that stand on the square today. They held events including the popular Square Fair to raise money for upkeep of the courthouse.

“Up until (2018), the Town Council would come to us, the DYD, because we were using the market, and we were giving them lots of money every year,” said Betty Sacks, a long-time DYD member. “They would tell us, ‘Hey, we need a new roof, we need boards replaced.’It was tended to. The DYD would help pay for all that. It wasn’t neglected until 2018, when the town decided under a different mayor, ‘We don’t need your money anymore.’” At one point, Vincent addressed Mark Neeley, one of her most vocal critics recently.

“You can giggle and smirk all you want,” Vincent said to Neeley.

“I’ll definitely giggle and smirk all I want,” Neeley said.

“That is contempt,” Vincent said.

“You’re the public servant, I’m the public master,” Neeley said.

At that point, Burger interrupted the two and said, “I think she made the point you wanted, that this building will not be torn down but renovated. Isn’t that the case?”

“I haven’t heard a motion yet,” someone in the audience stated.

“It will be on the next agenda,” Burger said.

“I’m sorry you seem to feel our intentions are not good,” Vincent said.

“Listen, you made the comments, not me,” Neeley said.

“I made the comment that this building needs to be preserved,” Vincent said.

“This building will be preserved,” Neeley said.

In the end, the Council agreed that the building will not be torn down.

“I appreciate very much what Louis said,” said Councilmember Jeanette Burger. “His position is my position. This building is 100 years old. It needs mostly safety standards. I would like for us to take this position as Town Council. Maybe we can put it on the agenda for next month, so that we could work toward the goal of mitigating the defects and making it safe.”

“I think we did actually say that when we brought the architect in,” Vincent said. “That was all said in public.”

“That’s not what you said,” someone in the audience stated.

Burger polled the Mayor and Council about issuing a formal statement along the lines of what Sellers suggested. No one voiced any disagreement.

“I think it would relieve a lot of people in town to say our goal is to save this building,” Burger said.