Legend of the Gonzales County Courthouse Clock. (original) (raw)

Way up on top of the courthouse is a clock that was installed in 1896. It worked like clockwork until nobody was left who could repair it. It wasn't until 1990 before Henry Christian of Gonzales contributed money and time for the repairs. Now it works as good as ever, except for the time before the last hanging.

Gonzales County Courthouse Clock Tower
Photo courtesy Barclay Gibson, February 2009

On March 18, 1921, while awaiting his death, convicted killer Albert Howard cursed the clock forever. Legend has it that while he was awaiting his execution, Howard would look outside the cell window and concentrate on the number of hours he had left to live. He swore to those who would listen (and many who wouldn't) that his innocence would be proven by the clock. He claimed that the hands of the four clocks would never show the same time again. Sure enough, he was hanged, and the clocks went haywire.

I wanted to fly up and have a closer inspection, but Bison Bill insisted that the legend was too good to debunk, so we left it at that.

1939 photo courtesy TXDoT

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