2024-9-29 Sunday Courthouses DSC_5020 (Houston County Courthouse grounds)
Like the surrounding counties, artifacts recovered from archeological sites suggest that humans have inhabited Houston County for 2,000 to 3,000 years. The Caddo culture flourished in the area between 1000 and 1600 AD, and the Alabama-Coushatta, Cherokee, and Tejas Indians also lived in the area.
The first recorded European exploration of the region was by French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in the 1680s, but it is thought that a Spanish expedition led by Luis de Moscoso Alvarado might have reached the area in the 1540s.
The earliest permanent settlers in the area were brothers-in-law Daniel McLean and John Sheridan, who settled near the site of modern day Augusta in 1821. Mexican land grants were made as early as the late 1820s. One of the first to receive on was Jacob Masters, who settled ten mile northeast of modern day Crockett.
In 1837, the Texas Legislature formed Houston County from Nacogdoches County, naming it for Republic of Texas president Sam Houston. At the time, it included land that would later become Trinity and Anderson Counties, as well as part of Henderson County. Land was donated for the county seat by Andrew E. Gossett, who named the town after his father’s friend David Crockett (he of coonskin cap and Alamo fame).
The county seat of Crockett was incorporated in December of 1837, and a post office established in early 1838. By 1855, there were several schools, and by 1857, there were two newspapers. In 1872, the Houston and Great Northern Railroad reached the town, spurring a growth of the lumber industry. By 1885, the town had a bank, an opera house, churches for three denominations, and a weekly newspaper. In 1886, the school that later became known as the Mary Allen Junior College was opened for the education of Black girls.
The 1939 Moderne style courthouse building is the county’s fifth. The first was a fortified log cabin, built in 1838, that was used as shelter during skirmishes with Native Americans during the early years of the county. Courthouses built in 1851 and 1871 both burned. The fourth courthouse was built in 1883. The 1939 courthouse was a WPA project, costing $120,000 ($2,704,225 in today’s money) to construct.
2024-9-29 Sunday Courthouses DSC_5020 (Houston County Courthouse grounds)
Like the surrounding counties, artifacts recovered from archeological sites suggest that humans have inhabited Houston County for 2,000 to 3,000 years. The Caddo culture flourished in the area between 1000 and 1600 AD, and the Alabama-Coushatta, Cherokee, and Tejas Indians also lived in the area.
The first recorded European exploration of the region was by French explorer René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, in the 1680s, but it is thought that a Spanish expedition led by Luis de Moscoso Alvarado might have reached the area in the 1540s.
The earliest permanent settlers in the area were brothers-in-law Daniel McLean and John Sheridan, who settled near the site of modern day Augusta in 1821. Mexican land grants were made as early as the late 1820s. One of the first to receive on was Jacob Masters, who settled ten mile northeast of modern day Crockett.
In 1837, the Texas Legislature formed Houston County from Nacogdoches County, naming it for Republic of Texas president Sam Houston. At the time, it included land that would later become Trinity and Anderson Counties, as well as part of Henderson County. Land was donated for the county seat by Andrew E. Gossett, who named the town after his father’s friend David Crockett (he of coonskin cap and Alamo fame).
The county seat of Crockett was incorporated in December of 1837, and a post office established in early 1838. By 1855, there were several schools, and by 1857, there were two newspapers. In 1872, the Houston and Great Northern Railroad reached the town, spurring a growth of the lumber industry. By 1885, the town had a bank, an opera house, churches for three denominations, and a weekly newspaper. In 1886, the school that later became known as the Mary Allen Junior College was opened for the education of Black girls.
The 1939 Moderne style courthouse building is the county’s fifth. The first was a fortified log cabin, built in 1838, that was used as shelter during skirmishes with Native Americans during the early years of the county. Courthouses built in 1851 and 1871 both burned. The fourth courthouse was built in 1883. The 1939 courthouse was a WPA project, costing $120,000 ($2,704,225 in today’s money) to construct.