East Texas Family Records, Volume 13, Number 3, Fall 1989 Page: 27
48 p. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
EAST TEXAS FAMILY RECORDS VOL 13, NO, 3, FALL 1989
RUSK COUNTY COURTHOUSES _'
- by Virginia Knapp
The following article is a reprint of some Rusk County History given by
Virginia Knapp, Chairman of the Rusk County Historical Commission, and printed
in the Henderson Daily News, Sunday, December 20, 1987.
Miss Virginia Knapp gave some history on courthouses of Rusk County. She
said that the Commissioners Court, the Grand Jury, and Criminal Trials were at
first held under a Blackjack tree on the corner of South Main and Ragley Streets.
The jurors and others sat on a big log under this tree. Both William C. Davis,
who served on the first grand jury and General Webster Flanagan, who witnessed
the first Commissioner's Court meeting in 1843 on that spot, spoke of it in
their later years.
A hewn log courthouse was built soon after 1843 on the corner end of Block
14. That is the lot where Milstead Appliance is now situated. This log courthouse
existed until 1849.
General James Smith, in his personal journal, tells that when the Commissioners
began to plan the first real courthouse, they realized that they had planned
the town without a square in which to put the courthouse. East, North, West and
South Main met in the center of town. If the Commissioners wanted a square,
they would have to take some territory from lots already purchased. They decided
to take 50 feet from the six lots bordering the intersection. These are listed
as "fractured" lots. The square therefore is not a square, but it is rather a
rectangle.
In 1849, a courthouse for Rusk County was erected and it was a square twostory
wood structure. It was, according to the Commisoners Court records, built
by Chaney and Johnson. It was situated in the center of the square and was the
one that burned in 1878. Photos show a Greek revival brick building close by,
which was the county clerk's offices and contained county records. Katie Hunt
has a photograph in her collection that shows this building, and it is also
contained in a book about Texas courthouses which is in the Rusk County Memorial
Library. When the business district burned in 1860, the courthouse caught fire
but was saved. We know this from the Court records when $75.00 was paid to J. T.
Gray for his efforts in saving the courthouse. The courthouse did burn to the
ground in 1878.
In 1854, the jail, sheriff's office, and land office were built. These
buildings were located on the grounds now occupied by the First Baptist Church.
The 1878 Brick courthouse was built and occupied that same year. The contractors
were Darling and Redwine. In 1954, Mrs. Alf Smith, in writing to Mr.
Homer Bryce about the Howard-Dickinson House, said that her father, Dave Howard,
"built" the brick courthouse in the center of the square.
The architect for this building was F. E. Griffin of Austin, Texas. The
judge of the county was General James Smith's son, Andrew Jackson Smith. Commissioners
were Jasper Tipps, George S. Strong, A. Langston, and Harley Perkins.
27
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
East Texas Genealogical Society. East Texas Family Records, Volume 13, Number 3, Fall 1989, periodical, Autumn 1989; Tyler, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth38020/m1/29/: accessed May 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting East Texas Genealogical Society.