DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for Walker County tells it this way, and I'm just the one passing it along. Now, Walker County has had five courthouses. Five.
Most counties wear out a courthouse the way most folks wear out a good pair of boots — slowly, reluctantly, and usually with some regret. Walker County went through them a little faster than that. The first one was available for county commissioners court meetings in July of 1848, though they didn't call it truly finished until 1850, when it finally stood complete in the center of the Huntsville public square.
Not bad. Except for one problem — the foundation was defective. And a defective foundation, friends, is just a slow-motion countdown.
By 1853, a second courthouse had already replaced the first. They tried repairs in 1856. Those didn't hold long either.
So Walker County went back to the drawing board for a third time. And this design had a particular wrinkle to it. Rather than tuck the grand jury room inside the courthouse itself, they put a separate little building in the southwest corner of the grounds.
They called it The Little Courthouse. It was completed and in use by 1861. Construction on the main courthouse, meanwhile, got interrupted by the Civil War.
It was finally finished in 1869 — though major repairs were necessary within a couple of years. Walker County, it seems, had a talent for buildings that weren't quite done being trouble. Then came the first day of 1888.
New Year's Day. The main courthouse burned. And just like that, The Little Courthouse got called back into service.
Now, the commissioners court had a decision to make. They turned to Eugene T. Heiner of Houston to design something new.
The construction contract went to N. Darling of Palestine. Darling set to work in the late spring, and what he erected was Heiner's vision — Victorian Gothic, Renaissance revival, and Italianate details all woven together into one grand Walker County statement.
That was the fourth courthouse. And for a while, it worked. The county warmed back up to it.
Social groups came back. Religious groups gathered there. The Walker County Fair of 1912 rolled through.
Texas A&M University sponsored a lecture series there in 1914. The building had roots, and it had history. But on a long enough timeline, Walker County courthouses tend to meet their end in a familiar way.
In 1968, the interior of the fourth courthouse burned. At the time it went, it was one of the twenty-five oldest courthouses in the state of Texas. The fifth Walker County Courthouse — modern brick and steel — was completed in 1970.
And there it stood, still in service at the dawn of the twenty-first century. Five courthouses. Two fires.
One little building called back from retirement on New Year's Day. Walker County didn't just build courthouses. It outlasted them.
What the marker says
The first Walker County Courthouse was available for county commissioners court meetings in July 1848; the building was finally completed in the center of the Huntsville public square in 1850. Because of a defective foundation, a second courthouse had replaced it by 1853. Repairs made in 1856 did not hold long. The design for the third county courthouse featured a grand jury house in the southwest corner of the grounds rather than inside the courthouse itself. Dubbed "The Little Courthouse," the grand jury house was completed and in use by 1861. Construction on the main courthouse was interrupted by the Civil War; it was finished in 1869 but major repairs were necessary within a couple of years. On the first day of 1888 the grand jury house was again called into service after the main courthouse burned. The commissioners court selected Eugene T. Heiner of Houston to design a new building. The construction contract was awarded to . N. Darling of Palestine. Darling set to work in late spring and erected Heiner's vision, replete with Victorian Gothic, Renaissance revival and Italianate details. That structure, the fourth Walker County Courthouse, gradually welcomed back the social and religious groups of the county. Other uses included the Walker County Fair of 1912 and a lecture series sponsored by Texas A & M University in 1914. The interior of the building burned in 1968. At that time, it was one of the 25 oldest courthouses in the state of Texas. The fifth Walker County Courthouse, a modern brick and steel structure, was completed in 1970. It remained in service at the dawn of the 21st century. (2000)