The Courthouses of Gregg County

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about The Courthouses of Gregg County. Now, every county's got a story, and sometimes that story is written right in the buildings that come and go. Gregg County was formed in 1873, with Longview chosen as the county seat.

And from the very start, finding a place to do the county's business was — well, let's call it a work in progress. The first temporary courthouse was a small building sitting at the corner of Fredonia and Tyler streets. Small being the operative word.

It proved inadequate pretty quick, and the county had to go looking for new quarters. What they landed on was the second floor of the W. G.

Northcutt Hardware Store — a two-story building that happened to be the only brick structure in town. Now, that brick construction was going to matter. Because in 1877, a devastating fire tore through downtown Longview.

Buildings fell. The whole district changed. And when the smoke cleared, the Northcutt Store was the only structure left standing.

The only one. Meanwhile, the county wasn't sitting still. They built a jail in 1874 and levied a special tax to finance something permanent — a real courthouse, built to last.

They brought in F. E. Ruffini to design it.

What Ruffini delivered, completed in 1879, was a French Second Empire style building — mansard roof, central clock tower. A statement. Something that said Gregg County had arrived.

Except. Structural problems showed up, and they weren't small ones. By 1896, the building was condemned and demolished.

That clock tower came down. The whole thing, gone. So the county tried again.

This time they turned to Fort Worth architect Marshall R. Sanguinet, who designed a new red brick Romanesque Revival courthouse. Completed right there on the square in 1897, it must have looked like permanence itself.

Then the East Texas oil boom of the 1930s rolled in, and with it came overwhelming business at that courthouse — deed filings, legal disputes, transactions of every kind that come when oil money starts moving through a region. By 1932, the county had replaced the red brick courthouse with a modern Art Deco building. Enlarged over the years with several additions, that building still serves Gregg County today.

Four courthouses. One county. And the one that finally stuck wasn't built from ambition or grandeur — it was built to handle the flood that oil brought to East Texas.

Sometimes the building that lasts is just the one that was ready for what came next.

What the marker says

Gregg County was formed in 1873 and Longview was chosen as county seat. The first temporary courthouse was a small building at the corner of Fredonia and Tyler streets. It soon proved inadequate, however, and another temporary courthouse was set up on the second floor of the 2-story W. G. Northcutt Hardware Store. The only brick building in town, the Northcutt Store was also the only structure to survive a devastating downtown fire in 1877. The county built a jail in 1874, and levied a special tax to finance construction of a permanent courthouse. Designed by F. E. Ruffini and completed in 1879, the French Second Empire style building featured a mansard roof and a central clock tower. Structural problems were soon evident, however, and by 1896 the building was condemned and demolished. A new red brick Romanesque Revival courthouse, designed by Fort Worth architect Marshall R. Sanguinet, was completed on the square in 1897. The East Texas oil boom of the 1930s resulted in overwhelming business at the courthouse, and by 1932 the county had replaced the red brick courthouse with a modern Art Deco building. Enlarged over the years with several additions, it still serves the county. (1997)