The Montague County Courthouse

Built in 1913, the current County Courthouse is actually the fifth courthouse for the County.  The first Courthouse was built shortly after the County government was formed in 1858 and was a simple log building.  It was used until after the Civil War, when it was replaced by an old store building that stood on the north side of the Square.  Soon afterwards, a frame courthouse was used, which burned in 1873, losing surveyor's records and other valuable papers.  Five years later, the Court began advertising for architects and contractors to design a new brick or stone courthouse.  John Thomas of Fort Worth was awarded the contract for $22,000.  This courthouse burned in the early morning hours of March 31, 1884, and everything not secured in the vault was lost.  Three men who had been indicted for cattle theft were accused of lighting the fire in a plot to destroy the indictment. Two of the men were later convicted of arson.  The next Courthouse was built by T.J. Jarrell for $35,500, but it was heavily damaged in a tornado on July 5, 1905 and again on April 30, 1905.  The citizens of Bowie seized this opportunity to try and get the county seat moved to their town.  A vote was held, and Bowie received the most votes but not the 2/3s majority required by law.

In the spring of 1912, construction began on the present courthouse.  The original contract was for $90,000, but additional changes raised the cost to $100,000.  The Courthouse was designed by architect George Burnett of Waco, and A.Z. Rodgers of Henrietta acted as the contractor.  It has been described by one architect as "truly a subtle but elegant massing in one of the state's strongest examples of Classical Revival, and certainly one of the most surprising and outstanding examples stylistically found in North Central Texas in the quiet county seat of Montague."

During construction, County officials were housed in Dr. Strickland's brick store house, while court was held in local churches or outside (weather permitting).  During the Depression, a canning factory was located in the basement.  The fourth floor held the County jail until 1927 when a new jail was built on the southeast corner of the square.  During the 1930s and 1940s, Dr. Ernest Johnson housed his doctor's office in the basement.  At least one baby is known to have been born in the Courthouse!  In 1939 the dome atop the Courthouse was removed due to structural damage caused by a storm and was replaced by a wooden structure disparagingly called  "the dog house" by local citizens.  It was recently removed in the hopes of restoring a replacement dome to once again show the original architect's design for this great structure.  The MCHC will gladly accept donations to the "Save the Dome" Fund for this worthwhile endeavor.