Old Harrison County Courthouse in Marshall, Texas

The Victorian courthouses of Texas symbolized the aspirations of a new breed of Americans bent on civilizing a vast frontier. Collectively, the thirty-two surviving structures in the state's 254 counties are remainders of a time when big government was at the county level and when the courthouse square served as the hub for all merchant and much religious and social activity. Harrison County's 1901 courthouse, designed by noted architect J. Riely Gordon, is one of the finest surviving examples of the Renaissance Revival style in the Lone Star State.

Car: 1937 Packard 115C Convertible Coupe

The MADI Art Wall in Marshall, Texas

Definition: MADI is a modern art movement known for bright colors and bold geometric forms. In architecture, sculpture, and painting, MADI art uses abundant circles, waves, spheres, arches, spirals, and stripes.

The word MADI may have originated in letters taken from the name CarMelo ArDen QuIn, the Argentinan artist who founded the MADI movement in the 1940s. Or, perhaps the term comes from the English word MAD or from the Spanish description of the MADI movement: Movimiento Artistico De Invencion.

Pronunciation: mah-DEE

Cars: 1940 Packard 110 Business Coupe
1937 Packard 115C Convertible Coupe

1940 Packard 120

This 1940 Packard has come a long way since it was pulled from the weeds near Texarkana, AR where it had sat for decades. It will soon receive new upholstery and hub caps.

Packard trio

(Foreground) 1940 Packard 110, (center) 1940 Packard 120 both owned by Nelson Bates; (far end) 1937 Packard 115C owned by David Flack

1930 Packard Model 726

Here's a project! Even in this condition, this Packard still retains its expression of 1930s elegance.