Hopkins County is named for the family of David Hopkins, who was an early settler.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Delta County
E – Franklin County
S – Wood County and Rains County
W – Hunt County
Created: March 25, 1846
County Seat:
Tarrant 1846 – 1870
Sulphur Springs 1870 – present
County Courthouse – Sulphur Springs
Location: 118 Church Street / Jefferson Street East
Built: 1894 – 1895
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: James Riely Gordon of San Antonio
Contractor: Sonnefield & Emmis of Dallas
Description: The building faces southwest and is a three story granite and sandstone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Sulphur Springs. The southwest corner has a semicircular portico with three arches on the first story and four thin columns on the second story with balcony above on the third story. The south side is two stories and projects from the main building. The east side has a row of arched windows on the third story. On the center of the roof is a high square stone tower with steep red roof. In the interior there is an unusual double-helix staircase with cast iron stairs located in the central atrium. There is marble wainscoting, masonry, oak woodwork and stone and tile flooring. The County District Court courtroom is located on the east side of the second story and has a high ceiling with a balcony on the third story The building houses the County District Court of the 8th Judicial District. The building was restored in 1945, 1971, 1979 to 1980 and 2001 to 2002 when the contractor was Harrison, Walker & Harper of Paris. To the east is the County Courthouse Annex.
See: The architect James Riely Gordon of San Antonio, Texas
Note: The county Courthouse Annex at 128 Jefferson Street houses the Constitutional County Court, County Court at Law and County Justice Court.
See: The 8th County Judicial District includes Delta County, Franklin County and Rains County.
History: The county was created in 1846 and Tarrant was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a log cabin built in Tarrant in 1846. The second courthouse was a two story frame structure built in Tarrant in 1854. The third courthouse was designed by F E Ruffini and constructed by J L Gilbert in Sulphur Springs in 1881 and which burned in 1894. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed at a cost of $75,000. The restoration in 2001 to 2002 was $4,960,000.
County Courthouse – Sulphur Springs
County District Court courtroom
Photos taken 2010, 2017 and 2019
Images 25*