Donley County is named for Stockton P Donley, who was a frontier lawyer.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Gray County
S – Hall County and Briscoe County
W – Armstrong County
Created: August 21, 1876 
County Seat:
Clarendon 1882 – present
County Courthouse – Clarendon
Location: 300 Sully Street / East 4th Street
Built: 1890 – 1891
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: Charles H Bulger & Isaac Hamilton Rapp
Contractor: Troutman Brothers of Trinidad, Colorado
Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story red colored brick and stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Clarendon. At the northeast corner is a three story square red colored brick tower with steep roof and two large stone arches and recessed entrance on the first story. The east side rises to a peak at the roof line with a three story circular red colored brick tower at the southeast corner. On the north side, the building projects with a semi-circular section. The base of the building is rough cut stone. There is stone trim at the top of some windows. The roof is hipped. In the interior, the walls are plastered and trimmed with stained woodwork. There are hardwood floors and fireplaces, and the ceilings are stamped sheet metal with intricate patterns. Beautiful stained glass windows in arched openings have Victorian decorative features. The courtroom is located on the second story. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the State District Court, Constitutional County Court and County Justice Court. The building was restored in 2003 to 2005. The architect was Volz and Associates, Inc. and the contractor was Phoenix I Restoration and Construction, Ltd. On the south side of the building is the one story buff colored Courthouse Annex constructed in 1975.
See: The architect, Issac Hamilton Rapp, also designed courthouses in Colorado in Las Animas County and in New Mexico in Chaves County and Rio Arriba County..
History: The county was created in 1876 and Clarendon was selected as the county seat in 1882 when the county was organized. The county rented the house of J S Wright as the first courthouse. In 1887, Clarendon was moved south to an new site near the railway. The second courthouse was built by S T Martindale and Charles Goodnight in 1888 as a temporary structure. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1890 to 1891 at a cost of $30,500.
County Courthouse - Clarendon
Photos taken 2014