Inventory of the County Archives of Texas: Number 62, De Witt County (Cuero) Page: 17
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-17 (First
entry, p. 25)
2. HOUSING, CARE, AiD ACCESSIBILITY OF RECORDS
De Witt County was created by act of March 24, 1846,1 and was organized
in July of the same year.2 On August 11, 1846, the cnomissioners
court met at the temporary county seat, the home of D. B. Friar, At
the time of this meeting, the site for the official county seat had already
been selected.3 This site the commissioners named Cameron, in
honor of Ewen Cameron, a Iier prisoner.4 The court then noted in its
minutes that all future meetings should be held at the Friar residence
until suitable buildings could be constructed at the town of Cameron.54, On
March 13, 1847, the court appointed William A. Blair agent tqo
receive proposals for
building a Court House at the town of Cameron and to make a contract
with the lowest competent bidder to build the same of the
following size, a log house, 16 x 18 feet. The logs to be hewed
down after the house is raised to be 8 feet high in the body, to
be covered with 3 feet clapboards, cabin fashion with one door
and shutter and to be done in a good substantial manner. The
house to be raised on blocks one foot high, . , 6
Apparently the courthouse was built, for on July 12, 1847, William Blair
was appointed "to stop underneath and to line the cracks with boards by
next term."7
This log cabin continued to serve De Witt County as a courthouse until
August 21, 1848, when the court took under consideration, a contested
election for the relocation of the county seat. Upon re-counting the votes,
the court decided that the town of Clinton had won the election,
and ordered that the court adjourn to meet in the town of Clinton.
With the decision of the court, Clinton became the county seat of
De Witt County, and in Niovember the commissioners met in that town. Mr.
R. H. Chisholm, owner of the town site of Clinton, agreed to furnish the
county "a room to. hold Courts and Clerk's office," until a c urthouse
could be bui-1L^t9. But in May 1849, citizens of Camorron having appealed
the case of the contested election, the following notation was entered
in the minutes of the commissioners court;
1. T.A., Mar. 24, 1846, Ganmmel, Laws, II, 1324.
2. Con. Ct. Min., A, 1.
3. Ibid., 27, The site had been selected in June.
4. Ibid., 6, 7.
5, Ibid., 6.
6. Ibid., 15.
7. Ibid., 28.
8. Ibid., 53, 54.
9. Ibid., 65.
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Texas Historical Records Survey. Inventory of the County Archives of Texas: Number 62, De Witt County (Cuero), book, January 1940; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth25252/m1/25/?rotate=0: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.