THE FRENCH EMPIRE COMES TO TEXAS

Established around a mile from the banks of the Concho River, the Texas Fort Trail community of Paint Rock served as site for fording the river waters, once far deeper and wider than today. A survey mix-up had buildings constructed at the wrong place at first, a mistake quickly remedied by moving the construction site eastward by a half mile. Named for a nearby Native American shelter covered in pictographs, Paint Rock suffered a few more setbacks including two major fires on the town square, one in 1909 and the other in 1922. Undaunted by challenges, however, Paint Rock society made the best of things along this decidedly fringe frontier, creating organizations like the Paint Rock Literary and Debating Society, the Order of the Eastern Star, and Woodmen of the World. Despite benefiting from the acquisition of a railroad connection in1910, disaster struck the community’s fortunes again a few decades later when a flood washed away the railroad bridge over the Concho, causing a discontinuation of the rail service. Paint Rock serves as Concho County seat and received a grand native rusticated stone courthouse designed and built by the Ruffini brothers, Texas courthouse architect celebrities of the late 19th century. The 1886 courthouse is a French Second Empire edifice with all the classic details of the style and, due to relatively few modifications, retains its architectural integrity today.