The Williamson County Commissioners Court approved a resolution supporting Operation Green Light for Veterans Nov. 3 and will light the courthouse dome on Main Street green from Nov. 7-13. County Judge Bill Gravell and Juan Amaya, Williamson County Veteran Services officer, will hold a short program on the steps of the building to honor veterans.
In addition to the initiative meant to support military members and highlight resources for veterans, the county has been working to repair its 111-year-old clock and bell, which will ring at 6 p.m. the night of the veterans event.
“This is the heart of this building,” Trenton Jacobs, county architect, said.
Built in 1910, the fifth courthouse of Williamson County was constructed after the commissioners court and voters approved $100,000 in bonds to pay for the project. Over its lifespan, it has gone through renovations, repairs and routine maintenance, still serving as a focal point for Georgetown’s Town Square.
The E. Howard Clock Company in Boston provided the clock faces located in the dome of the courthouse. From the time it opened in 1911 until 1940, the clock was fully mechanical. Every three days, county staff would climb a series of ladders on the third floor of the building to wind it, but it kept perfect time, Building Systems Engineer Daniel Shea said.
“It’s not pseudoscience, either,” he said. “It is an exact science.”
The timekeeper was electrified in 1940. On the hour, a cable connected from the clock to the bell on the courthouse roof is triggered, prompting a hammer to strike the metal and reverberate throughout. The gears in a century-old clock can only last for so long, though, and several years ago, the bell stopped ringing.
“Teeth scraping against each other for 100 years will take off a 16th of an inch, and that will throw the whole mechanism off,” Jacobs said.
With the help of Southwest Museum of Clocks and Watches in Lockhart, which the county contracted with to help fix the clock, some temporary repairs were made to keep it functional. More permanent repairs will soon be made “for the sake of longevity,” Shea said.
The Operation Green Light for Veterans will be held on the east steps of the courthouse Nov. 7 at 6 p.m. The county is also encouraging residents and businesses to participate by changing one light bulb in their house or establishment to a green bulb.
The Williamson County Courthouse is located at 710 S. Main St. in Georgetown. For more information, call 512-943-1100.
