Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas. Page: 201 of 1,110

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HISTORY OF DALLAS COUNTY.

[NorT.--The foregoing act originated in
the Senate, and passed the sltme by a vote of
23 y(.f+ to 4 nays, and passed tie Iouse by a
vote of (;() yeas to 34 nays.
NoTr.--The act was presented to the
Governor of Texas, for his approval, February
27, 1889, and was not signed by him,
nor returLnr t to te house in which it originated,
with his objections thereto, within the
tine Lpreecrilbel by the constitution, and
theremiulK became a law without his signature--.-J.
. Jlo.ore, Sccretary of State.
TIlE COURT IIOUSES.
The tirst courts of )nallas county, we learn
frIom old settlers, were heldl inl a routgh crude
l( .g house, tlie best that could be aflorded at
thnat ftage of civilization anld development of
this s ectiOl of coIlltry, and probably it was
good, enough l for ia new frontier country, as
thet few people here then were not so Inuch
intemrtCt.l in an ilmposinig house in which
they co1ul assemble to Imete out justice as
tley were il the abstract fact of oltaining
justice*
Whilt, tlhert are no records of the plans
ahid ,lpeciticattions of the first courtliouse, it
ix stid tltht after the use of the log house a
tbuildling wua erected for tile clerks of the
county and district courts, in which the
courts were lheld for some til-e.
Tlon contract w4a awarded to J. 1i. MePher0on
o0n tlte 9thi day of I)ecell er, 1850, but
te. rxn.rdsi fail to show at wllat contract
pricc. 1Thte building is descril>e(l as follows:
1i f:ct wilde by 32 feet long , land 9 feet
lwvawn tile ilor aind joists; to be well

framed; the sills to be 8 inches thick by 10
inches wide and placed on blocks 18 inches
long, put 12 inches in the ground; the plates
to be 4 inches thick by 6 inches wide; the
studding to be 4 inches thick; corner posts
well braced; joists to be two feet apart, hewn
or sawed straight on the under side; to be
well covered with good shingles; the sleepers
to be stout and 18 inches apart; the floors to
be laid of good plank flooring well jointed;
a partition wall run across the center of the
building; said partition and the outside walls
to be weather-boarded up with four-foot
boards well shaved; witli a good stone chimney,
to be built in tile center of the building,
with a fire-place in each room; one door of tile
usual size in each room, well cased up
with plank of proper thickness, with a good
batten shutter to each door and a knob lock
on each; two twelve-light windows in each
room (one in the side and one in end); also
plank shutters, with bolts to fasten; also one
book case in each room alongside the chimney,
with various apartments sufficient to contain
tlhe books and papers of the two clerks'
offices of the county."
On October, 1855, tle contract for a courtlhouse
was let to Moore

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Lewis Publishing Company. Memorial and Biographical History of Dallas County, Texas., book, 1892; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth20932/m1/201/ocr/: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dallas Public Library.

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