DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker in Greenville tells it, Hunt County went through courthouses the way some folks go through boots — and here's my telling of that official story. Back in 1846, Hunt County was created, and Greenville was chosen as the county seat. Now, they didn't have a proper courthouse yet, so court sessions were held under oak trees — oak trees, mind you — right at the corner of St.
John and Bourland streets. You can picture it: a judge, some lawyers, maybe a defendant or two, all standing out in the Texas weather hoping it didn't rain. That arrangement held until 1847, when the first courthouse was built on the west side of the square.
A log cabin. Not exactly marble columns and a rotunda, but it was theirs. Courthouse number one.
It lasted until 1853, when a two-story frame courthouse went up on the northwest corner of the square. Step up in the world. That's courthouse number two.
But the center of the square had been reserved all along for something more substantial. In 1858 they finally used it — courthouse number three, and here's where it gets interesting: it was the first brick structure in the entire county. First brick building in Hunt County.
Built right there in the center of the square where it belonged. You'd think that would stick around a while. It did not.
By 1874 it was condemned. County offices had to be moved to a building at 2610 Lee Street, a place purchased from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. That's courthouse number four — which, to be fair, started life as a church, but the county needed it, so there you go.
Now comes courthouse number five, and this is where the story really picks up. In 1883 they constructed an ornate red brick building right here, with white stone trim. Ornate.
That was the word they used, and you can tell they meant it as a compliment. Hunt County was done apologizing with its courthouse. Thirteen months later it was destroyed by a fire that heavily damaged the town's commercial district.
Thirteen months. They barely had time to admire it. So they built courthouse number six in 1885 — and here's the part I love — it closely resembled the 1883 structure.
Essentially said, no, we liked what we had, let's do it again. That courthouse stood for decades, all the way until 1928, when it was torn down to make room for the seventh courthouse — the one standing today. A formal dedication was held on April 11, 1929.
The 83rd anniversary of the county's founding. Seven courthouses for one county. Log cabin to condemned brick to a building bought from a church to an ornate showpiece that burned in thirteen months to its own twin to the one you can see right now.
Hunt County didn't give up easy. It just kept building.
What the marker says
In 1846, when Hunt County was created, Greenville was chosen as the county seat. Court sessions were held under oak trees at the corner of St. John and Bourland streets until the first courthouse was built here in 1847. A log cabin, it was located on the west side of the square. It was replaced in 1853 by a 2-story frame courthouse on the northwest corner. The center of the square, which had been reserved for a more substantial building, was used in 1858 for the third courthouse. The first brick structure in the county, it was condemned in 1874. County offices were moved to a building at 2610 Lee Street, purchased from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The fifth courthouse, an ornate red brick building with white stone trim, was constructed here in 1883. Thirteen months later it was destroyed by a fire which heavily damaged the town's commercial district. A new courthouse, which closely resembled the 1883 structure, was built in 1885. In 1928 it was torn down to make room for construction of the present courthouse, the seventh for Hunt County. A formal dedication was held on April 11, 1929, the 83rd anniversary of the county's founding.