Since the establishment of Tarrant County, there have been three permanent courthouses. The first burned in 1876. The second was quickly outgrown by the 1890s due to the increasing population of Tarrant County.
In 1893, the County Commissioners voted to provide $500,000 to build a new courthouse. The building was designed by architects Frederick C. Gunn and Louis S. Curtiss, who were based in Kansas City. Probst Construction Co. out of Chicago was the general contractor.
The building was built with red Texas granite in the American Beaux Arts Eclecticism style. It was completed in 1895 at a cost of $408,840. Even though this was within the allocated funds, Tarrant County citizens were upset. They voted out all the County Commissioners during the next election.
The building was designated a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1969, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated a State Archaeological Landmark in 1981.
Historical Marker Inscription
Designed by firm of Gunn & Curtis and built by the Probst Construction Company of Chicago, 1893-1895. This red Texas granite building, in Renaissance Revival style, closely resembles the Texas State Capitol with the exception of the clock tower.
The cost was $408,840 and citizens considered it such a public extravagance that a new County Commissioners’ Court was elected in 1894.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark – 1969
Entered in the National Register of Historic Places – 1970
