Editing Mills County, Texas (section)

== Significant structures ==
[[File:Mills County, Texas, Jail ca. 1887.jpg|thumb|Mills County Jail c. 1888 (taken before courthouse was built)|left]]
[[File:1890 Mills County, Texas, Courthouse.jpg|left|thumb|1890 Mills County Courthouse]]
Mills County's first courthouse, officially recognized on June 25, 1890, was built by John Cormack of Lampasas and paid by bonds amounting to $27,500.<ref name=":6" /><ref name=":0" /> On May 5, 1912, the courthouse burned, allegedly by arson.<ref name=":0" /> After the fire, a controversy erupted over whether the replacement courthouse should be built in Goldthwaite or Mullin, some arguing that Mullin was closer to the center of the county and should be named the new county seat.<ref name=":6" /> The [[Texas Land Commissioner]] located the center of the county, closer to Goldthwaite, and marked it with a bronze marker designated "Center Point."<ref name=":6" /> Goldthwaite would remain the county seat.<ref name=":6" /> Later that year, the county hired [[Henry T. Phelps]] to design and specify a new [[Mills County Courthouse (Texas)|courthouse]], and construction was completed by the Gordon-Jones Construction Company on November 17, 1913, at a cost of around $69,000.<ref name=":0" /> The [[classical revival]] courthouse was recently renovated through a grant from the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Goldthwaite |url=https://texastimetravel.com/cities/goldthwaite/ |access-date=2023-08-27 |website=Texas Time Travel |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1915 during [[Jim Crow]], a Confederate Memorial Monument was placed on the courthouse grounds in Goldthwaite, funded by public donations, the civic organization Self Culture Club, Jeff Davis Camp 117, and the [[United Confederate Veterans]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Little |first=Carol Morris |title=A Comprehensive Guide to Outdoor Sculpture in Texas |publisher=University of Texas Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-292-76036-3 |page=237}}</ref>

Called the "Goldthwaite Calaboose," the first jail in Mills County was ordered to be built in 1887 at a cost of $15.00.<ref name=":1" /> It was an eight-foot square building made of 2" x 12" lumber that was located on the south side of the courthouse square.<ref name=":20">{{Cite book |last=Blackburn |first=Edward A. Jr. |title=Wanted: Historic County Jails of Texas |publisher=Texas A&M Press |year=2006 |oclc=59756393}}</ref> On October 12, 1887, county judge J.B. Head began to take bids for building a new jail.<ref name=":35">{{Cite web |last=Bridges |first=G. Frank |date=1981-12-17 |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle (Goldthwaite, Tex.), Vol. 88, No. 33, Ed. 1 Thursday, December 17, 1981 |url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1652035/m1/1/zoom/ |access-date=2024-03-30 |website=The Portal to Texas History |language=English}}</ref> The limestone jail that still stands was built by Green and Nichols of Lampasas at a cost of $8,850; it was completed in April 1888, six months and nine days following ground breaking.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":20" /><ref name=":35" /> J.B. Dumas, the designer, specified that the upper floor contain prisoner cells and the bottom floor accommodate sheriff's offices.<ref name=":20" /> Diebold Safe and Lock Company made the cells and ironwork.<ref name=":20" /> It served as the county jail until the 1950s and was in use until 1977.<ref name=":20" /><ref name=":33">{{Cite web |last=Bridges |first=G. Frank |date=1979-08-30 |title=The Goldthwaite Eagle (Goldthwaite, Tex.), Vol. 86, No. 21, Ed. 1 Thursday, August 30, 1979 |url=https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1056217/m1/2/zoom/ |access-date=2024-03-03 |website=The Portal to Texas History |language=English}}</ref> In 1965, it received a [[Recorded Texas Historic Landmark]] designation and was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1979.<ref name=":4" /><ref name=":33" /><gallery>
File:Mills County, Texas, Courthouse and Jail.jpg|<small>Mills County Courthouse (right) and Jail (left)</small>
File:Regency Suspension Bridge Deck.jpg|<small>[[Regency Bridge|Regency Suspension Bridge]] spanning the Colorado River between Mills and San Saba counties</small>
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