On some moonlit nights with wispy clouds drifting by, there have been sightings of a woman in a hooped skirt standing at the DeWitt County Courthouse Tower Clock. Light softly illuminates her face as she gazes over the rolling hills.
“I have seen it (the lady) on the other side (of the tower)” Peggy Ledbetter said, pointing to a photograph of the clock tower. Ledbetter worked 37 years at the Courthouse as county treasurer and also coordinated the 2007 renovation. She is currently the chairman of the DeWitt County Historical Commission.
“I know of somebody at the courthouse that was working one day – said she saw it. It looks like a figure of a woman passing through the clouds,” she said.
Peggy related the story of a woman in an1800 period dress with a small, cinched waistline and hooped skirt. Some believe the illumination came from the full moon, while others said it was from the clock's light. She appeared throughout the years, but sightings dwindled around the 1950’s.
One day, two retired military men came in to the Courthouse with their wives. They had been Brayton cadets from the Army Air Corp training base during World War II, now the Cuero Municipal Airport. They asked Peggy if she knew anything about the “Lady in the Clock” and shared that they told their wives of the “Lady.”
“If they had a date, they would bring her to the Courthouse. The agreement was that if they saw the ‘Lady in the Clock,’ they would get a kiss,” Peggy said.
Over the years, stories of the “Lady in the Clock” have proliferated. But no “Lady” appeared. During one of Peggy’s school tours before the remodel, one boy asked if the “Lady in the Clock” was still there. “My grandfather told me about the “Lady in the Clock,” said the boy.
After the 2007 restoration of the Old Cuero Courthouse, the finials were reinstalled on the tower spires along with the return of the “Lady.”
“I have seen it now,” Peggy said. “One of the workers in the Courthouse was driving his son to school. The boy pointed upward and saw something moving across the clock.
“The combination of the finials and clock gave off the appearance of a lady,” Peggy said, showing a finial on top of a cabinet. “I guess it’s the finial. It’s the light or something that hits - wintertime. She’s back now. If you come the right way (side of the building), you might see her,” Peggy added.
During Peggy’s years of working at the courthouse, there have been other strange happenings, such as the elevator operating on its own, bathroom water running, and footsteps on the stairs.
“One lady was working on a weekend. She was close to the restroom, and she heard the door. And then she heard water running. So, she got up and went to open it and there wasn’t anybody,” Peggy said.
One of the janitors who worked there for many years and some attorneys have experienced the sound of the elevator and footsteps on the stairs when no one was in the vicinity.
Most recently, County Attorney Jay Conde has twice had a voice greet him on the elevator through the emergency speaker, but then was silent. No one had alerted or was on the receiving end.
Perhaps the “Lady in the Clock” has found the elevator more convenient than the stairs. It definitely feels creepy.
