The Market Square in downtown Cleburne may soon have a drastically different, and improved, look.

Plans to renovate the county owned square remain preliminary with no firm decisions having been reached.

Commissioner Rick Bailey said he hopes to see movement on the project in the near future, however.

“It’s something I thought about over the years as a resident in the area before I became commissioner,” Bailey said. “I watched the improvements Howard Dudley brought in with Wright Plaza and Liberty Hotel, and I always thought the Market Square was a vital asset that wasn’t being used to its potential.”

The Market Square was established in 1898 after 11 men who did not want to wait for an expenditure of public money donated the land to the county forever, according to a Texas Historical Committee marker posted on the property.

People were already setting up shop to sell produce and other goods on the Johnson County Courthouse square, which prompted county commissioners to accept the donation, according to a handwritten remembrance of the 1912 courthouse fire written by an unknown author — possibly A.J. Wright.

The document is housed in County Judge Roger Harmon’s office in the courthouse.

“These people would bring their products to town and stop on the square of the courthouse to exchange and sell their products,” according to the document. “This was very unsightly and also unsanitary. When the men would go to court, it is said, they had to walk over watermelon rinds to get in the courthouse.”

Commissioners apparently thought the current Market Square location, several blocks from the courthouse, would be a better place for such activities.

Since taking office, Bailey has focused on the project, having already worked with County Attorney Bill Moore to contact Texas Historical Commission officials to discuss and receive permission to carry out planned renovations.

Bailey also met with Cleburne city officials who have agreed to provide water and sewer connections for bathrooms to be installed.

“There are so many events, Springfest, Antique Alley,” Bailey said. “But I think we’ve lost some events there because there’s no bathroom facilities. And when people go [to Market Square] I think they tend to leave earlier in the day because of the lack of facilities. I think it’s just an area with all kinds of potential to be something special for Cleburne and the county.”

During their Sept. 8 meeting, commissioners discussed the possibility of installing bricks that once paved a portion of Texas 171 and are now stored behind the Johnson County Law Enforcement Center at the Market Square.

During the same meeting, Bailey displayed several proposed concept sketches prepared by Magee Architects that show various ideas for renovations at the square.

Bailey said he joined Johnson County Public Works Director Don Burns, Alan Magee, and another associate of Magee Architects about a month ago to walk through Market Square and discuss ideas.

Magee associates developed the sketches based on those ideas, Bailey said.

The sketches show a bricked surface with benches, light poles, trees and other landscaped areas. An arched entry way supported by rock pillars leads to an area containing a concert and event stage, pavilions and a new sales area.

The ideas are just that right now, Bailey and other officials said, but the sketches have generated excitement for the proposal.

“We were impressed when we saw the pictures,” said Donna Jackson, Cleburne Development Services director. “Market Square can really be a great asset and a wonderful thing for downtown and Cleburne. And this project ties in with the city’s plans to revitalize downtown, which we’re in the beginning stages of. Market Square forms the southern boundary of the downtown district, so it plays an important part.”

Cleburne Tourism Director Carl Watson agreed.

“With Market Square you have a great location on the main drag, and it also makes for a nice entrance into town,” Watson said. “I’m hoping that if the square is renovated it will serve as a catalyst for visible change on that side of downtown — show the town is growing and maybe encourage area building owners to upgrade their properties and, perhaps, attract new investment into downtown. It’s a good project that will show the city is committed to positive growth.”



Name change?

The sketches identify the property as the Johnson County Farmers Market, not Market Square.

“We talked about ideas of what to call it,” Bailey said. “But nothing’s been decided. It may well still be called the Market Square at this point. That was just in there with some of the things we talked about, like whether to have a full-time farmers market there, or make it a weekend event, but nobody has discussed legally changing the name at this point.”

How to pay for the renovations also remains to be decided, Bailey said.

County mineral royalty funds is one possible option, he said, something commissioners used to fund recent county construction projects such as renovations at the Guinn Justice Center and an adjacent building soon to house the Precinct 1 justice of the peace and constable’s offices. Commissioners are presently discussing that and other funding options including possible partnerships, Bailey said.



Help from UT Arlington

County and Cleburne officials may soon receive several ideas about improvements to Market Square and downtown from University of Texas at Arlington students.

A group of UTA students pursuing a master’s degree in city and regional planning have chosen downtown Cleburne for a case analysis study, Bailey.

The students will focus on tourism and cultural development for the downtown area, Jackson said.

“I asked my students to come up with projects they would be interested in and one was downtown Cleburne,” said Dr. Ard Anjomani, UTA professor of urban and public affairs. “One student said downtown Cleburne is an area of great potential and suggested a study to determine how that potential can be pulled out.”

Students initially contacted Watson then Jackson and other city officials with the idea. The students did a walk through of the downtown area on Saturday.

“It’s a semester long project, so we have about 2½ months,” Anjomani said. “We can’t promise a lot but hope the work can be continued by us, or someone else.

“There are 14 students in the class, who are working on three projects. All of them work on all three, but we divide it up into four primary students for each project, with the rest assisting. The idea is that they work as kind of a small consulting office to get an idea of how the real world works. We have younger students and several people with experience. One student worked 10 years as a licensed architect who has come back to school, so he’s very experienced.”

Students will also use the results of similar studies on Forney and Arlington conducted by students in previous classes, Anjomani said.

The students hope to present their findings and suggestions to city leaders once the project wraps up, Anjomani said.