Cooke County Courthouse - Gainesville, TX
N 33° 37.429 W 097° 08.720
14S E 672037 N 3721989
Built in 1910 and listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, the Cooke County Courthouse is still serving the county at 101 S Dixon St, Gainesville, TX.
Waymark Code: WMPWZW
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 11/01/2015
Views: 11
That National Register of Historic Places notes that the architects were Lang & Witchell, who designed similar courthouses for Johnson County (Cleburne) and Scurry County (Snyder). A 1988 Texas Historical Marker provides some background:
Settlement of the area now known as Cooke County began in late 1845. The county was created by the state legislature in 1848 and named for William G. Cooke, Republic of Texas Quartermaster General and a participant in the Battle of San Jacinto. Land for a county seat was donated by Mary E. Clark, and the new town was named Gainesville in honor of U.S. Army General Edmund Pendleton Gaines.
There have been four courthouses located on this site. The first, a small log structure, was erected in 1850. It was replaced in 1853 by a one-story frame building which was later destroyed by fire. The third courthouse, a two-story limestone structure, was completed in 1880 and destroyed by fire in 1909.
Designed by the Dallas architectural firm of Lang and Witchell, construction of this Beaux Arts style courthouse began in 1910. The Gainesville firm of Garrett and Collins served as supervising architects, and M.P. Kelly of Gainesville was the contractor. The impressive brick and limestone building features terra cotta ornamentation, eagle brackets, and a copper-clad dome. Clocks were added to the dome in 1920 as a World War I memorial. The courthouse is an important North Texas landmark.
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Note that while the courthouse is open from 8 AM to 5 PM, some offices are closed from 12 PM to 1 PM for lunch.
Street address:
101 S Dixon St
Gainesville, TX USA
76240
County / Borough / Parish: Cooke
Year listed: 1991
Historic (Areas of) Significance: Architecture/Engineering, Event
Periods of significance: 1925-1949, 1900-1924
Historic function: Government
Current function: Government
Privately owned?: no
Hours of operation: From: 8:00 AM To: 5:00 PM
Primary Web Site: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 1: [Web Link]
Secondary Website 2: [Web Link]
Season start / Season finish: Not listed
National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
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