The grand lady, Cooke County Courthouse, is a very imposing edifice that sits in the heart of downtown Gainesville.

 

Four courthouses have been constructed on this site.  The first which was a small log structure built in 1850.  In 1953, that structure was replaced by a one-story frame building that was destroyed by fire.  The third courthouse, a two-story limestone structure, was completed in 1880, but it was destroyed by fire in 1909.

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Construction on the current Beaux Arts Style courthouse began in 1910.  The impressive brick and limestone structure features terra cotta ornamentation, eagle brackets, and a copper-clad dome.  Clocks were added to the dome in 1920 as a World War I memorial.

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The courthouse is considered a North Texas landmark.