Nacogdoches County Courthouse Number 4

The fourth of the Nacogdoches County courthouses was begun in 1911 and completed in 1912 at the site of the oldest known cemetery in Nacogdoches, a Catholic cemetery started in 1802. This courthouse replaced the 1856 courthouse. It was built at the corner of South Street and West Main on the “Berry lot” offered to the county be E. A. Blount.

 

The building was constructed of concrete and tan-colored brick with 3 rows of full size windows. The bottom row of smaller windows was for the “basement” which at one time contained the offices of the constable and justice of the peace, the court’s library, and a storage area. The first and second floors contained more offices for county officials plus a 2 story courtroom at the southwest corner. (This courtroom had curved rows of seats for observers.) The third floor had a dormitory for jurors. The jurors could use a spiral staircase to get from their deliberation room to the dormitory.

 

In the early years of the century the old brick courthouse located on the south side of the square began to deteriorate noticeably. For that reason, in 1911, after a petition that garnered hundreds of signatures and the offer of a building site by E. A. Blount, voters approved the construction of a new building; work began that year, and the building was occupied the next year. This fourth courthouse for the county was a two-story brick and concrete office-style structure with three rows of windows. It was located on the southwest corner of Main and North Streets.