Cherokee County | US Courthouses

Cherokee County is named for the Cherokee Native American tribe.

Created: April 11, 1846

County Seat:

Rusk 1846 – present

County Courthouse – Rusk

Location: 201 East 6th Street / North Main Street

Built: 1940 – 1941

Style: Art Deco and Moderne

Architect: Gill and Bennett Inc. of Dallas

Contractor: Works Project Administration using local labor

Description: The building faces north and is a three story red and white colored limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the city. The north front has a central entrance trimmed with white concrete. The windows are vertical with concrete panels between the floors. The third story is recessed and smaller than the main building. The third story has small windows. The building was a Works Project Administration project.

Note: The purchasing agent W A Pearson accepted bids for labor and materials. Arthur Thompson was hired as the head carpenter. Suppliers were:

Austin Brothers of Dallas – structural steel

Boyd Nesler – roofing

Browning-Ferris Machinery Company of Dallas

Cherokee Hardwar Company of Jacksonville

D D Welch Lumber Company of Rusk – lumber

Dezendorf Marble Company of Austin – marble

Ferris Bruce Company of Ferris

Industrial Title Company Inc.

J E Bagley Lumber Company – lumber

Manhattan Terrazzo Brass Strip Company Inc. of New York, NY

Master Builders Company of Cleveland. Ohio

N O Nelson of St, Louis, Missouri – plumbing & heating

Osborne Plumbing Company = plumbing

Peden Iron & Steel

Roten Material Company

S W Nichols Company

Sam R Hill Lumber Company of Tyler – mill work

Samuel A Ellsberry Company of Dallas

Southern Electric Supply Company of Houston – electrical

Texas Quarries, Inc. of Dallas – limestone

Vermont Marble Company

Weaver Incorporated of Dallas – iron, steel & ornamental metal

Note: The first courthouse was a log cabin built in 1848. The second courthouse was built in 1859. The third present courthouse was designed by Wesley Clark Dodson of Waco and constructed in 1889. The building was remodeled in 1925 and 1926 and then rebuilt in 1941.

County Courthouse Annex – Rusk

Location: 165 East 6th Street / North Henderson Street

Built: 1952 – 1953

Style: Modern

Architect: Gill & Harrell & Associates

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces south and is a two story stone, brick and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of the city to the northeast of the courthouse. The south front of the rectangular shaped building has a central red colored brick framed entrance. The first story is recessed. The windows are horizontal. Stone faces the east and west walls. The roof line is flat.

Courthouses:

N – Smith County

E – Rusk County and Nacogdoches County

S – Angelina County

W – Houston County, Anderson County and Henderson County