Texas County - American Courthouses

Texas County is named for the Republic of Texas.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Pulaski County, Phelps County and Dent County

E – Dent County and Shannon County

S – Howell County and Douglas County

W – Wright County and Laclede County

Created: February 17, 1843

County Seat:

Houston 1846 – present

County Courthouse – Houston

Location: 210 North Grand Avenue / East Main Street

Built: 1931 – 1932

Style: Art Deco

Architect: E S Johnson of Johnson and Maack of St. Louis

Contractor: George H Gassman Construction Company

Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Houston and is 95 feet by 70 feet. The building has a projecting center section with entrance framed with white colored stone. Two brick pillars rise to white colored stone tops in the center of the west front. The base of the building is concrete and on the east side the basement is exposed. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the hallways run east-west. The building houses the administration offices as of 2010.

County Justice Center – Houston

Location: 519 North Grand Avenue / Spruce Street

Built: 2007 – 2008

Style: Modern

Architect: Treanor Architects of Kansas City

Contractor: Septagon Construction Company and Anderson Engineering Inc.

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in Houston to the north of the courthouse. The center of the east front projects with recessed entrance on the first story. There are large windows on the north and south sides of the front. A white colored band runs along the flat roof line. In the interior there are three County Circuit Court courtrooms located at the northwest, east and southeast sides of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 25th Judicial Circuit.

See: The 25th Judicial Circuit includes Maries County, Phelps County and Pulaski County.

History: The county was created in 1843 as Ashley County and was changed to Texas County in 1845. The county first met at the home of David Lynch on the banks of Big Piney River. Houston was selected as the county seat in 1846 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was built in 1847 by James G Sweeny at a cost of $500. The superintendent was James R Gardner. The building was damaged in 1850 and the court met at the home of Richard Y Smiley. The second courthouse was built by Allen Hamer in 1851 at a cost of $550. The superintendent was R W Rogers. In 1860, the building was ordered to be sold. The third courthouse was built in 1859 to 1860 by George W Read at a cost of $4650. The superintendent was E Y Mitchell. After the Civil War, a temporary fourth courthouse was built in 1865. The fifth courthouse was designed by Ira Martin and built by Richard Y Smiley in 1869 to 1871 at a cost of $6000. The superintendent was Valentine Sutton. Richard Y Smiley and Joseph Parson bought the temporary courthouse. In 1881, the courthouse was damaged by fire and Arthur Bates reconstructed the courthouse at a cost of $4270. The superintendent was Jackson Cobble. In 1901, the building was altered at a cost of $5,873. The architect was Henry H Hohenschild and the contractor was George E Matthews. The courthouse was destroyed by fire on December 14, 1930. The sixth and present courthouse is a restoration and rebuilding of the damaged courthouse, at a cost of $20,140 plus $25,000 to finish the second story in 1932.