From pioneer log cabins to a native Texas limestone structure, Grayson
County courthouses have taken may shapes and sizes since the county?s establishment
in 1846. The first courthouse, a frame building on Bald completed
in 1847 for a cost of $232, it served for one year, until Sherman was relocated
to this site, and the Commissioners Court ordered the construction of a
log cabin on the southeast corner of the square. Neither it, nor the third
courthouse (a two-story frame building on the north side of the square),
nor the 1853 brick fourth courthouse were in service for any substantial
period of time. An 1859 courthouse, intended to provide the county
with a large and structurally sound facility, fell into disuse by the early
1870s.
Thus, by the time the Houston & Texas Central Railroad reached
Sherman in 1873, Grayson County had seen five courthouses in fewer than
40 years. The coming of the railroad was boon to the local economy, and
the availability of better building materials let to the construction of
majestic 1876 courthouse?a two-story edifice with tower supporting a cupola
containing a clock and a bell ? which served the county until it burned
in 1930. Due to the Depression, it was six years before the current
limestone courthouse was built, in part with Federal grants and loans.
As centers of politics and government Grayson County?s seven courthouses
have played a significant role in the county?s history.
More
about the Riot that Burned the courthouse and other photographs and history.
By Elaine Nall Bay & Patricia Nall
Grayson
County TXGenWeb
