Courts Under the Oaks

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Courts Under the Oaks, right here in Henderson County. Now settle in, because this one goes back to the very beginning of things. Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas was annexed by the United States.

Young county, young state, and a whole lot of ground to figure out. By 1850, the Texas Legislature had trimmed the county down to its present boundaries, and that restructuring meant one pressing question had to be answered: where exactly was the seat of government going to be? The Legislature appointed a commissioners court to scout possible sites and put it to a vote.

The people spoke, and they chose the property of one Matthew Cartwright, a prominent East Texas landowner, as the townsite of Athens. A surveyor named Samuel Huffer laid the whole thing out, and right at the center of his plan, he set aside the public square. Now here is where the story gets good.

There was no courthouse yet. Athens itself was barely getting started. But Henderson County had business to conduct, and it could not wait.

So they did what sensible Texans have always done when the roof hasn't been built yet. They went outside. Early county and district court sessions were held right here on that square, under a large shady oak tree.

Justice, administered in the shade. The first district court term came in October of 1850, presided over by Judge Oran M. Roberts.

And the docket, well, it was not light reading. Murder, larceny, gambling, defaulting jurors, assault and battery. Judge Roberts heard it all under those branches.

He would go on to become a Texas Supreme Court Justice and eventually governor of the state, but that October in 1850, he was just a man with a gavel and a very large oak tree for a ceiling. The Courts Under the Oaks, they say, reflected the democratic goals and ideals of the pioneer settlers of Henderson County. Begun before Athens even had its shape, before the mortar was mixed for a proper courthouse.

That's the thing about this story. The law didn't wait for a building. It found a tree, and it got to work.

What the marker says

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.