Grayson County TXGenWeb

First Public Building
1839

The Anglo settlers desired law and order, coming after their need for water and food. Thus, the first public building the settlers built on the frontier in the Red River area of Texas was a courthouse.

Upon the Congress of the Republic of Texas creatng Fannin County (which included present-day Grayson County), a two-story log cabin was built at Fort Warren. It was the first public building and courthouse in the county.

A few years after the formation of Sherman, Texas, a new two-story brick courthouse was built on the town square near the famous pecan tree where earlier courts had been held. It was the eighth courthouse (and the first one made of brick) constructed by Anglo settlers pushing westward in the Red River Valley.

The first three courthouses were in the log cabin homes of settlers. The fourth, and first public building, was the two-story log building at Fort Warren. The fifth was at the home of Robert Atchison, which was the first courthouse in Grayson Cunty. The sixth and seventh had been public log structures in Grayson County.