GAINESVILLE, Texas — The Cooke County Courthouse has stood at the center of downtown Gainesville since 1912, and it remains the working seat of county government more than a century later — housing the courts, county offices, and records that touch nearly every Cooke County resident at some point.
Four courthouses, one square
The current building is actually the fourth courthouse to stand on the downtown square. The first was a small log structure built in 1850, not long after Cooke County was organized. It was replaced in 1853 by a one-story frame building, which later burned. A two-story limestone courthouse went up in 1880 — but it, too, was destroyed by fire, in 1909.
Voters responded by approving a $125,000 bond to build a courthouse meant to last. The cornerstone was laid on November 10, 1910, and the new building was finished late in 1911 at a final cost of roughly $150,000. It has anchored the square ever since.
A Beaux Arts landmark
The courthouse was designed by Lang & Witchell, a prominent Dallas architecture firm, in the École des Beaux-Arts style, with Prairie School touches and ornamental details influenced by the Chicago architect Louis Sullivan. The building is a three-story, cruciform-plan structure of brick and limestone, topped by a copper-clad central dome. Clock faces were added to the dome in 1920 as a memorial to Cooke County residents who served in World War I.
Inside, black-and-white marble floors lead to a central atrium capped by a stained glass skylight beneath the tower — a detail that county officials and visitors still point to as the building's signature feature.
The Cooke County Courthouse was named a Texas Historic Landmark in 1988 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.
A $7 million restoration
By the early 2000s, the century-old building needed major work. With three grants from the Texas Historical Commission's Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program, Cooke County undertook a roughly $7 million restoration. The exterior — including windows, doors, and masonry — was fully restored by 2006.
The interior restoration followed, reopening the district courtroom to its full original height, repairing the tower clockworks, restoring finishes to their 1912 appearance, and re-exposing the stained glass dome to natural light. The work culminated in a rededication ceremony on November 12, 2011, timed to the courthouse's 100th anniversary.
What's inside today
The courthouse remains a fully operational government building. It's home to the County Judge's office, County Clerk, District Clerk, County Attorney, County Auditor, Commissioners Court, and the 235th District Court and County Court at Law, among other offices. Residents handling property records, marriage licenses, court filings, or county business will most likely end up walking through its doors.
On the lawn
The courthouse grounds also include a monument topped by a 1911 Confederate soldier statue, one of many similar memorials placed on Texas courthouse squares in the early 20th century. Cooke County commissioners voted to keep the statue in place in 2020 amid a wave of national debate over Confederate monuments; a subsequent legal case involving protesters at the site reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which declined to hear it in 2024.
Visiting
The Cooke County Courthouse sits at 101 S. Dixon St. in downtown Gainesville, on the square that has anchored the city since its founding. It's open during regular county business hours for residents conducting official business, and its exterior and grounds are publicly accessible year-round. The Morton Museum of Cooke County, a short walk away, keeps additional historical records and photos documenting the building's century-plus history.