HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Davis Law Office

Montgomery, Montgomery County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Built in 1845, this frame structure was first used for the law office and living quarters of Judge Nat Hart Davis. Many young attorneys read law here under Judge Davis' supervision. From 1848 to 1854 the structure was the meeting place for the mayor and Montgomery City Council, and later was used as a school. It served as a U. S. Post Office from 1923 to 1936 and now is a reminder of Montgomery's early days. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 1967

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

This modest frame building went up in 1845, the year Texas joined the Union, as the law office and home of Judge Nat Hart Davis, who trained a generation of young attorneys reading law under his supervision here. From 1848 to 1854 it doubled as the meeting place for Montgomery's mayor and city council, and over the decades it served as a school and later a U.S. Post Office from 1923 to 1936. Today it stands as one of the last tangible reminders of Montgomery's earliest days.

Why it matters

The Davis Law Office shows how a single small building could serve as courthouse, classroom, and civic hub in a frontier town just finding its footing as part of the United States.

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Related people

  • ยท Nat Hart Davis

Themes & tags

EducationLandmark

Nearby & related markers

N. H. Davis Cottage

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Judge N. H. Davis built this cottage in 1851 using timber from an 1831 log house he had received as a legal fee, and the home grew with a kitchen wing in 1880 and a south addition in 1895. From 1881 to 1891 it also served the community as the site of Texanna Snow's school, and the house has remained in the Davis family ever since.

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