Courts Under the Oaks

Athens did not keep its first courthouse long. The Handbook of Texas says the log building of 1850 was sold by 1855 and the money went to W. B. Stirman to build a jail, from which only one prisoner ever escaped. A two-story weatherboarded courthouse with four brick chimneys followed in 1860 and stood in the middle of the square until it burned in 1885. The fire also killed the original red oaks under which the first court had met.

What the plaque says

Courts Under the Oaks Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas was annexed by the United States. In 1850, after previous reductions in the county's original size, the present boundaries were set by the Texas Legislature. The restructuring resulted in the need for a new county seat, and the Legislature appointed a commissioners court to select possible sites and to conduct an election that would determine the permanent seat of government. The voters chose the property of Matthew Cartwright, a prominent East Texas landowner, for the townsite of Athens. In Samuel Huffer's survey for the new county seat, this site was set aside as the public square. Before a courthouse was constructed here, early county and district court sessions were conducted on the Square under a large shady oak tree. The first district court term, held in October 1850, was presided over by Judge Oran M. Roberts, later a Texas Supreme Court Justice and governor of the state. Cases he heard included charges of murder, larceny, gambling, defaulting jurors and assault and battery. Begun before the development of Athens, the Courts Under the Oaks reflected the democratic goals and ideals of the pioneer settlers of Henderson County. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center — 5.4 mi
  A Texas Parks and Wildlife hatchery and visitor center in Athens where visitors can borrow tackle and fish a stocked pond, watch native species in gallery tanks and ride a tram around the hatchery.
• Purtis Creek State Park — 13 mi
  A 1,582-acre park straddling the Henderson and Van Zandt county line, built around a 355-acre lake with no-wake fishing, borrowed tackle, a 4.1-mile hike-and-bike trail and a nature path.

More markers nearby

• Jess Sweeten — steps away
• First United Presbyterian Church of Athens — 0.2 mi
• Dulcinea Ann Holland Thompson Avriett — 0.4 mi
• Joseph Thomas La Rue and Stella E. Parsons La Rue — 0.4 mi