Fannin County, Texas -- On Tuesday, May 14, relatives of former Fannin County Judge Choice Moore presented the County with a gavel made from a log from the first Fannin County Courthouse, which was built at Warren near Red River in 1839, during the Republic of Texas times.
Here is the backstory:
In 1838 the Fannin County Commissioners Court met for the first time near Red River in Jacob Black’s cabin, the exact location of which is unknown. Arrangements were made to build a courthouse at old Warren.
The specifications for this new structure were as follows:
"a post oak or cedar log body 18 x 24 feet, one and one half stories high, the lower floor of rough plank, the upper floor to be dressed, and a wooden chimney, two doors and four windows of 12 lights, with shutters; one flight of stairs, the upper apartment to be divided into two rooms of equal size and one alley; to be covered with good oak boards three feet long nailed to good rafters with one foot to the weather; to have a shed room at the opposite end from the chimney fifteen feet wide which is to be of the same material and covered in the same manner as the body of the building; to have a good rough floor, with a door and window in each end of it and each end of said shed room to have a small wooden chimney; all to be furnished with a Judge's bench with sufficient room for commissioner's court, a bar ten feet long and four benches with backs eight feet long, a clerk’s table with a large drawer and a lock and key."
In June 1924 the remains of the old courthouse were moved to Bonham and placed on the courthouse lawn.
Walter Bales, house mover, had agreed to move it to Bonham for what it would cost to load it, about $20. The cost to rebuild it was estimated at $500 given its condition. It was noted in the Bonham Daily Favorite in 1924 that "there are few, if any, other buildings in this part of the state that were built while Texas was an independent municipality and under the flag of a republic."
Several ideas were put forth on where to move and restore it. Some wanted it on the courthouse square, some at Simpson Park, Woodman Park or the old Pace Graveyard/Park just east of the Texas & Pacific Depot.
In November 1924 the “timbers” were removed from the courthouse lawn to the jail yard, one block east of the courthouse square. I have been unable to date to find anything more about the “timbers.”
In 1950 W. A. Barr presented to County Judge Choice Moore, District Judge Albert Broadfoot and Speaker of U.S. House of Representatives Sam Rayburn gavels made from a log from the old courthouse. A newspaper article states that Sam Rayburn used his gavel at the U.S. House of Representatives during an address by the President of France.
How did W. A. Barr obtain the log(s) to make the gavels for Judge Choice Moore, Judge Broadfoot and Sam Rayburn in 1950? Mr. Barr had been a member of the Constantine Lodge for 63 years and had worked for the Bonham City Water Department for 25 years. Perhaps the logs had at some point been moved to City property.
We are so pleased that a small part of Fannin County’s early history is retained in the gavel given to the County by the family of Choice Moore and in the gavel given to Sam Rayburn which is at the Rayburn Library and Museum. The Choice Moore gavel will be placed in the display case on the second floor of the courthouse. Come and see it!
