The Arcane Texas Fact of the Day: (If you
have Ancestors in Texas, this information will be of assistance to your
record searches).
*Submitted by Pam Atherstone.
Many
Texas county courthouses have burned down over the years, oftentimes
resulting in the destruction of the documents they stored: marriage,
wills, probate and land records, among others. Once destroyed they are
lost forever. Despite the fact that they have been placed on mircofilm,
computers and film burn as well. The most tragic aspect of this is the
reason that many of our courthouses are destroyed: by arsonists. Here is
a fairly complete list of courthouses that have been destroyed by fire:
Angelina
County Courthouse burned on November 19, 1891. Many of the county
records – including those in the assessor’s office and the justice of
the peace office were destroyed.
Austin
County Courthouse was built in 1888, was destroyed by fire on April 5,
1960. Courthouse records were saved
Cass County Courthouse – damaged by fire in August 1933. Courthouse
rebuilt and enlarged.
Crosby County Courthouse in Estacado caught fire on October 9, 1889 and
destroyed the judges’, treasurer’s and county clerk’s offices.
Delta
County Courthouse at Cooper was destroyed by fire on 9 March 1899.
Nearly all of the county records were stored in a fireproof vault and
were saved. Records in the district clerk’s office, probably records on
current cases, were destroyed.
Denton County Courthouse and almost all county records were destroyed by fire in December 1875.
Eastland
County Courthouse, a three-story stone building, burned on November 29,
1896. The records are believed to have been saved.
Erath County Courthouse and most of the county records were destroyed by fire in the summer of 1866.
Gillespie County Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire in July 1850.
Galveston County Courthouse was destroyed by the Galveston
Hurricane in September 1900, swept the island clean, therefore, it is
likely the record was destroyed in the hurricane. Check in nearby
counties for any such replications of any records from the
Galveston area prior to 1900.
Goliad County Courthouse and almost all county records were destroyed by fire in June 1870.
Gray County Courthouse Annex destroyed by tornado in 1970.
Grayson County Courthouse was burned by a mob on May 9, 1930.
However ALL of the vital records, land records, and most court records
were saved from this fire. The courthouse had records in fire proof
rooms and storage areas.
Grimes County Courthouse records were destroyed by fire in late 1848.
Hamilton County Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fires in September 1863, March 1877, and February 1886.
Hardin County Courthouse burned about August 8, 1886. Early
county records were destroyed in the conflagration. Some records were
destroyed including the assessment rolls of the county, surveyor’s
records, and the county judge’s records, including the probate records.
The only records that may have been saved were those that were stored in
an iron safe.
Hill County Courthouse caught fire on 18 Sept 1872. Many county
records were destroyed. Courthouse, built in 1890, caught fire on 1 Jan
1993, destroying most of the building.
Hood County Courthouse and most of the county records, if not all, were destroyed by fire in March 1875.
Hopkins County Courthouse built in 1882, was destroyed on Feb.
11, 1894 by a fire that also burned the jail and several nearby
structures. Nearly all of the records were saved. Those destroyed were
in the office of Judge Morris. The fire additionally destroyed the jail,
part of the Courthouse square and the offices of the Hopkins County
Echo newspaper.
Houston County Courthouse , a brick building, which replaced the first
courthouse in 1851, was destroyed by a fire of mysterious origin in
February 1865 . The third courthouse and jail burned in November 1882 .
Most early records were destroyed
Hunt County Courthouse , built in 1883, was destroyed by a fire on
August 17, 1884 which heavily damaged the town’s commercial district.
Some early records destroyed. (more).
Jackson County Courthouse was destroyed by fire on June 15,
1900. Records of the County Judge, Assessor and Justice of the Peace
were lost. The Jackson County Progress Newspaper plant and offices
(along with part of the Edna business district) were destroyed by fire,
12 November 1906.
Jasper County Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in October 1849.
Karnes County Courthouse and most records of the county clerk were destroyed by fire in July 1865.
King County Courthouse destroyed by a Tornado in 1905, again destroyed by fire in 1914.
Kent County Courthouse in Clairemont, built in 1893, was burned in April
1955. The building was vacant because the county seat moved to Jayton
in 1954. No record loss.
Lamar County Courthouse was destroyed in a courthouse fire in March
1916, most records of the district clerk were destroyed. Birth, death
and marriage records were not lost.
Lee County Courthouse, built in 1878, burned in 1897
Leon County Courthouse fire on the night of November 9, 1885 destroyed
the courthouse. Many records were lost. Most of the records for the
county were destroyed.
Liberty County Courthouse, built in 1857, was destroyed on December 28,
1872. County records were destroyed
Limestone County Courthouse destroyed by fire in October 1873 at
Springfield and most county records were destroyed. A fire at Groesbeck
on February 1, 1891, records were stored in vaults and were not lost.
The Old Courthouse, built in 1891, was destroyed by fire in May 1954.
Llano County Courthouse was destroyed and many county records
were destroyed by fire in December 1873. Again courthouse was entirely
consumed by fire in Oct of 1880, destroying the office of the district
and county clerk, containing all the county records, etc (more).
Courthouse, built in 1885, was destroyed by fire on January 23, 1892.
Papers and records of the clerks office were the only records saved. The
tower and parts of the interior of the Llano County Courthouse, built
in 1893, was damaged by fire in Sept 1932. Also fire destroyed the
courthouse Dec, 17, 1951, county’s oldest records were destroyed. (more)
Madison County Courthouses and county records were destroyed by
fire in June 1865 and January 1873.Courthouse, built 1896, was destroyed
by fire on May 14, 1967. Some county records may have been destroyed.
Mason County Courthouse burned on 22 January 1877 during the Mason County HooDoo War.
Milam County Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in April 1874.
Mills County Courthouse, built in 1889, burned on May 5, 1912. No records were lost in the fire.
Montague County Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire in February 1873.
Motley County Courthouse, built about 1904, was destroyed by
fire Sept 1944. No vital records were lost, but some were damaged by
water.
Navarro County Courthouse Records of the district clerk were destroyed by fire in October 1855.
Newton County Courthouse, built in 1902, burned on August 4, 2000. The Courthouse was rebuilt and restored in 2002.
Orange County Courthouse, built in 1884, destroyed by fire,
April 14, 1898. All county records were stored in a vault and were not
harmed by the fire.
Parker County Courthouse and almost all county records were destroyed by fire in May 1874.
Rains County Courthouse, built in 1871, burned; All county
records were destroyed.Courthouse, built in 1884, burned. County records
were save in a fireproof vault.
Refugio County Courthouse fire in January 1879, many records were destroyed.
Rockwall County Courthouse and most, if not all, county records
were destroyed by fire in March 1875. Courthouse again caught fire on
January 27, 1892. All records were saved.
Rusk County Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire in March 1878.
Sabine County Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in November 1875.
San Patricio County Courthouse records were destroyed by fires in 1846, 1867 and 1888.
Shelby County Courthouse burned May 31, 1882 destroying all
records. Tax lists were forwarded to Austin so still exist. Deed records
were “reconstructed” by the county commissioners.
Somervell County Courthouse and many, if not all, court records were destroyed by fire in February 1893.
Stonewall County Courthouse burned on August 9, 1910. Records of
the county judge, sheriff, tax collector, and some of the surveyors
office were lost in the fire.
Tarrant County Courthouse burned in a fire in 1876 which destroyed all county documents
Titus County Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in September 1895.
Tom Green County Courthouse in Ben Flicken, then the county
seat, was destroyed by flood in 1882. The second floor of the Tom Green
County Courthouse caught fire on June 28, 1886, possibly from mice
eating matches. The fire started in the office of the Clerk of District
Courts. Many of the records in the clerk’s office were destroyed.
Trinity County Courthouses and most county records were destroyed by fire in December 1872 and February 1876.
Wise County Courthouse and many county records were destroyed by fire.
Wood County Courthouse and all county records were destroyed by fire in December 1878.
Yoakum County Courthouse destroyed by fire in December 1926. All county records were stored in a vault and were saved.
Zapata County Courthouse lost most, if not all, county records were destroyed during military action in 1863.