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PANOLA COUNTY
COURTHOUSE
County Seat - Carthage,
Texas
Panola County has
had five courthouses:
1848, 1850, 1853, 1885
and 1953.
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| The
1953 Panola County courthouse |
| "The
courthouse annex on the right side of the picture behind the courthouse
was built several years ago and all of the courtrooms were moved there.
The courtrooms that were at each end of the 1953 building are now
occupied by the county clerk's office and the district clerk's office."
- Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 photo |
Present
Panola County Courthouse -
Carthage, Texas
Date - 1953
Style - Modern
Architect - Preston M. Geren
Material - Concrete and brick
One of the worst architectural errors in judgement occurred in Panola
County in 1956. The 1885
courthouse (a twin to Shelby County’s courthouse) was replaced
with the 1953 structure in use today. The old courthouse was auctioned
for materials and a park was made of the courthouse lawn.
See The
Castle Builder by Bob Bowman
Architect Jacob Joseph Emmett Gipson, and the Shelby and Panola County
courthouses.
Carthage became the county seat in l884 when Jonathan Anderson donated
100 acres for the townsite. |
The
1953 Panola County Courthouse
Postcard courtesy THC, 1960s |
The
1885 Panola County Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Notice the similarity to the Shelby County Courthouse below.
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
| Drawing
of the 1885 Panola County courthouse by artist Stan Routh. |
| "This
drawing, along with dozens of other Stan Routh drawings and other
historical photos, is hanging in the county clerk's office of the
current courthouse." - Terry
Jeanson, December 2007 photo |
Another
view of the 1885 Panola County Courthouse
1940s Postcard courtesy www.rootsweb.com/ %7Etxpstcrd/ |
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