The Architecture Of Wesley Clark Dodson

Raised the son of a Methodist circuit-riding minister, Wesley Clark Dodson had just begun establishing himself as a civic-minded architect in Alabama when the outbreak of the Civil War dramatically altered his life. He fought with the 40th Alabama Infantry Regiment and emerged from the war disabled. In 1866, unable to find work as an architect in his home state, he was determined to begin again in Texas. Starting over would prove far from simple. Postwar Texas had a depressed economy, and the conflicts of Reconstruction plagued the state. Dodson lost his beloved wife, Sarah, to illness during a severe winter. Nevertheless, he persevered, gradually building a career designing courthouses, jails, churches, and schools, institutions he saw as necessary to create a good, strong society in Texas. Eleven of Dodson's public buildings are still in use today and nine of Dodson's buildings in Texas, including the First Presbyterian Church in Palestine and the courthouses of Parker, Hill, and...