History
of the Grimes County Courthouse
The
first Grimes County courthouse was constructed of cedar logs in early 1800. Fire destroyed this structure in 1838 and in
1850 a ferocious wind destroyed the second courthouse. W. W. Arrington designed the third courthouse
and built it from stone in February 1859.
This third courthouse burned on May 15, 1890 and a fire destroyed the
fourth courthouse on January 20, 1893.
Presently, the current courthouse, the fifth courthouse, was built in
1894.
The
courthouse bricks have 3 distinct colors. (1) the
original hand molded red brick of the surviving 1890 east wall vaults; (2) the
1894 pinkish red brick on the south, west and part of the north walls; (3) a
rustic brown colored brick on a section of the north wall. The third color of brick has an interesting
story. The bricklayer had run out of
bricks and was waiting impatiently for a wagonload of bricks to be
delivered. While waiting for the bricks
to arrive, he went around town gathering a few bricks to keep the job moving
along. When the wagon arrived, he
continued bricking with the original bricks.
During
the election of 1898, the elections returns disappeared from the county clerk’s
office and were supposedly burned. The Populist
Republicans claimed victory and the Democrats contested the election. In the spring of 1899, five men gathered to
discuss ways to fight the coalition.
This group became known as the White Man’s Union Association. On November 7, 1900 the current sheriff Garret
Scott lost the election but refused to step down for the newly elected
sheriff. The incumbent sheriff
barricaded himself in the county jail across the street from the
courthouse. The opposing group fortified
their stance inside the courthouse. When
the two coalitions met, a gunfight
began resulting in five bullet holes in the Courthouse structure, four on the
west side located near the second floor windows and one on the right side of
the south entrance doors. They are still
visible today. Three men were killed and
several others were wounded, including the sheriff who was seriously wounded in
the thigh. The Governor was called in
and the wounded sheriff was taken into custody by the Texas Rangers and sent to
Houston by train. One of the men killed
was John J. Bradley Jr., an innocent bystander whose general store was across
the street from the jail. Also shot and
killed was William McDonald and Emmett Scott, the brother of Sheriff Garret
Scott. A story in the New
York Times described the shooting, saying that Scott and McDonald had a street
duel and when the smoked cleared both were dead. All three men were buried at the Odd Fellows cemetery
in Anderson.
In
1933, a Grimes County Grand Jury indicted Clyde Barrow for robbing a business
in Navasota. The indictment was dropped
after Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were gunned down in a Louisiana
ambush. In 1934, Joe Palmer, a member of
the Barrow gang, was tried and found guilty and sentenced to death for killing
Major Crowson of the Walls Prison Unit in Huntsville.
For
as far back as anyone can remember, it has been a tradition in Grimes County
for it’s citizens to gather around the Courthouse on
election night to await the election returns.
The County Clerk hangs two large tally boards outside his office and
votes are posted as returns from all over the county come in.
Hollywood
came to the courthouse in June 1997 when Goldie Hawn directed her first film
made for TV named “Hope”. Grimes County
residents were able to try out for parts in the movie and be a part of it. The town got to watch Main St. be renovated
for the movie and watched the burning of the constructed movie theater (where
the Confederate Memorial is today).
Under
the reign of County Judge Ira “Bud” Haynie, his wife
at the time, Joy, pursued looking for grants to preserve and restore the
present courthouse. Working with the
Texas Historical Commission, this dream came true. On March 2, 2002 grand opening ceremonies
took place in the beautifully restored Courthouse. In order to get the grand from the Historical
Commission, the courthouse had to be remodeled to look as close to the original
construction in 1894. Joy worked hard to
make this possible, resulting in a “showplace” for Grimes County.