Cass County Courthouse
Linden, Cass County, Texas
Marker Inscription
When county was organized, 1846, courthouse was in Jefferson (now in Marion County, created from Cass in 1860). Linden was made county seat, 1852; a frame courthouse was built here, 1853. This brick structure, begun in 1860, was not completed until after the Civil War ended in 1865. It cost $9,877.00. It was enlarged in 1900 and 1917. After a fire in 1933, third floor was added. Courthouse now is valued at $1,000,000.00. Site of early work of 20th century U. S. Congressman Wright Patman and Texas Supreme Court Justice Ralph Hicks Harvey. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Cass County was organized in 1846, its court met in Jefferson, but Linden became the seat in 1852 and got a frame courthouse the next year. The present brick structure was begun in 1860 and, delayed by the Civil War, was not finished until after 1865; it was enlarged twice and gained a third floor after a 1933 fire. The courthouse also marks the early careers of U.S. Congressman Wright Patman and Texas Supreme Court Justice Ralph Hicks Harvey.
Why it matters
County courthouses anchored civic life across Texas, and this one — built through the disruption of the Civil War — became a launching point for figures who shaped state and national politics.
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Related people
- · Wright Patman
- · Ralph Hicks Harvey
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Cass County
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Carved from Bowie County land in 1846, Cass County took its name from Lewis Cass, a soldier-statesman who had pushed hard for annexing Texas into the Union. The county's loyalties turned sharply in 1861: swept up in secession fervor, residents renamed it "Davis" for Confederate president Jefferson Davis, only to restore the original name in 1871 after the war. Its seat shifted too, from the busy river port of Jefferson to centrally located Linden once Marion County was split off in 1860.
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