DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Navarro County Courthouse — and friend, there is more story packed into this one building than most counties manage in a lifetime. Navarro County itself came into being in 1846, created by an act of the first Texas Legislature and named for Jose Antonio Navarro, statesman, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, a man who lived from 1795 to 1871 and clearly left his mark on this part of Texas in more ways than one. Now, every county needs a seat of government, and Navarro County's first one was — well, let's call it modest.
It was established at the home of William R. Howe, an early settler out on the Chambers Creek, in what is now Ellis County. Not exactly a grand hall of justice, but it was a start.
Then in 1848, Corsicana was designated the seat of government, and temporary offices were set up in the home of a pioneer by the name of Hampton McKinney. After that came a second temporary courthouse — a log cabin, sitting right on the corner of West First Avenue and Twelfth Street. Now you might think the story gets easier from there.
You would be wrong. A proper courthouse was built at this site in 1853. It burned in 1855.
Just two years. Gone. So they built a third.
Counties are stubborn that way. Then in 1880, an Austin architect named F. E.
Ruffini designed a fourth courthouse for Navarro County — an elaborately ornate building, and by all accounts something to look at. But it proved too small for a county that kept right on growing, and worse, the foundation started to shift beneath it. By 1904, that structure was condemned.
Four courthouses, and the county wasn't even sixty years old yet. So they called on architect J. E.
Flanders of Dallas, and this time they meant business. The present courthouse was completed in 1905, built of red Burnet granite and gray brick — solid, serious, and dressed to impress. It's a Beaux Arts Classical Revival structure, with a clock dome up top, a pedimental entryway, and free-standing Ionic columns out front.
After log cabins and borrowed parlors and a building that sank into its own foundation, Navarro County finally got a courthouse that was going nowhere. And it's still standing right there today to prove it.
What the marker says
Navarro County was created in 1846 by an act of the first Texas Legislature. It was named for early statesman Jose Antonio Navarro (1795-1871), a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. The first county seat was established at the home of William R. Howe, an early settler on the Chambers Creek in present-day Ellis County. In 1848, Corsicana was designated the seat of government, and temporary offices were set up in the home of pioneer Hampton McKinney. The second temporary courthouse for Navarro County was a log cabin located on the corner of West First Avenue and Twelfth Street. A second courthouse, built at this site in 1853, burned in 1855, requiring the construction of a third building. In 1880, Austin architect F. E. Ruffini designed a fourth courthouse for Navarro County. The elaborately ornate building proved too small for the needs of the growing county, and a shifting foundation caused the structure to be condemned in 1904. The present courthouse was designed by architect J. E. Flanders of Dallas. Constructed of red Burnet granite and gray brick, it was completed in 1905. The Beaux Arts Classical Revival structure features a clock dome and a pedimental entryway with free-standing Ionic columns. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1983