Three different places have been the county seat of Kaufman County. From April, 1848 to August, 1850, the geographical center of the county was the official county seat. After the boundaries of the county were changed, the new center of the county was the county seat from August, 1850 to March, 1851. Third, the town of Kaufman has been the county seat of Kaufman county from March, 1851 to the present day.  

The law which created Kaufman County in February, 1848 also provided for the selection of the county seat. A special committee, composed of Parson Sherwood, John J. Buck, Sr., Adam Sullivan, H. J. McKensie, William Price, S. G. Parsons, and Abner Johnson was appointed to hold the election on April 1, 1848 for the county seat. Since the center of the county was thought to be the fairest location, the law required that it be one of the places nominated for the election. In addition, the committee was empowered to nominate as many as two other places. While no records of any actions of this special committee have been found today, a number of facts indicate that an election was held and that the center of the county was chosen to be the county seat.  

When the first District Court was held in December, 1848, it was under a post oak tree about five miles north of present Kaufman which is the general area of what was then the center of the county. Additionally, when the county commissioners met for the first time in February, 1849, they ordered "that a new election for County site of Kaufman Cty be held at the several precincts in this County on the 24th day of March next." Obviously, an election had already been held since the county commissioners specifically called for a new one. Again, no record of the election of March 24, 1849 has been found; if, indeed, it was held at all. However, it is clear that the center of the county was considered to be the official county seat after March, 1849.  

R. A. Terrell, who had been paid for surveying to find the center in May, 1849, was declared to have ascertained the location of the county seat by the county commissioners in August, 1849. The Legislature of Texas changed the boundaries of Kaufman County in February, 1850. Approximate 228 square miles were removed from the east and roughly 210 square miles were added to the south. This alteration of the boundaries meant the geographical center of the county was no longer where it had originally been. Consequently, the Legislature also provided for a new election for the county seat to be held on June 8,1850. The Chief Justice of the county (County Judge) was authorized to receive proposed donations for the county seat. In compliance with the act of February, 1850, the Chief Justice of Kaufman County, Cary Cobb, ordered an election for June 8, 1850, and five donations were placed in nomination for county seat. Donation 1, or the Kingsborough donation, was made by B. H. Martin. Bennet H. Martin was the Judge of the District Court; and apparently, he made the donation rather than Mrs. Francis Tabor, who owned the land, since her title to the land was not clear at that time. The Kingsborough donation was 150 acres located where Kaufman now is. Donation 2, or the Willow Pond, was made by Robert Stephens. Stephens owned land immediately to the south of present Kaufman and in the Warsaw area. On the basis of Local tradition, the Warsaw area seems to be the most likely location for the 150 acre Willow Pond donation. Donation 3, of 200 acres, was offered by D. M. Tullas. No indication has been found of where this donation was located. Donation 4, the Center Point, was made by R. A. Terrell. The Center Point was three to four miles north of present Kaufman, and Terrell offered 150 acres. Donation 5 was made by William Love and consisted of 100 acres which were probably located about one mile southwest of present Kaufman.   

On June 18, 1850, the County Court counted the votes cast in the election and found that Kingsborough had 51 votes, Willow Pond had 39, and the center received 37 votes. Although Kingsborough had the most votes, no donation had a majority, and a run-off was necessary. The law stipulated that only those places which were within five miles of the center could be in a run-off, so the commissioners ordered James Smith to determine how far Kingsborough and Willow Pond were from the center. Apparently, Willow Pond was disqualified by this require- ment, since it was not in the run-off. Chief Justice Cary Cobb, on June 24, 1850, ordered that the run-off election be between Kingsborough and the center donation only. On August 15, 1850, the county commissioners met to count the votes of the run-off election and found that the center won the election with 113 votes, while Kingsborough received 106. The persons who had favored Kingsborough felt that the run-off election had not been conducted properly. B. M. Ballard argued before the county commissioners that the election was invalid, but the commissioners declared that the election would be upheld.   

Undaunted, those favoring Kingsborough presented a petition to the Legislature of Texas on November 21, 1850. The Legislature responded by passing a law on December 2, 1850 that called for another election between the center and Kingsborough. The Chief Justice ordered the necessary election, and when the votes were counted March 31, 1851, Kingsborough won 93 votes to 90 for the center. Francis A. Tabor then deeded the Kingsborough donation, the present town site of Kaufman, to special county commissioners on April 17, 1851. Mrs. Tabor was given 12 lots in the town, and a provision was made that all land in the town owned by the county would revert to her if the county seat were ever moved from Kaufman.   

The activities of the county government were moved to the town of Kaufman by November, 1851. Kaufman's hold on the county seat was firm 'from 1851 to 1873. In the latter year the town of Terrell was founded on the Texas and Pacific Railroad, and it rapidly surpassed Kaufman in population. There was some discussion of moving the county seat in 1874 when Terrell was just a year old. In 1875, there was again a considerable debate on the county seat question, but nothing was done. By 1879, Terrell had grown to a population of about 4,000 while Kaufman had dwindled to about 300. The Terrellites argued that the countv seat should be near the center of population and wealth rather than near the geographical center. Additionally, the courthouse and jail in Kaufman were in bad condition, small, and flammable. The Terrelites reasoned that if a new courthouse had to be built, it could be built in Terrell just as easily as in Kaufman. The Kaufmanites argued that the existing courthouse could last at least five more years. On August 29, 1879, responding to the petition of W. M. Lindsey and others, County Judge H. P. Teague called an election for October 4, 1879 to determine whether the county seat should be moved from Kaufman to Terrell. Both towns campaigned vigorously. In Terrell, according to the Fort Worth Daily Democrat of September 21, 1879, there were "' removal drink.', 'removal beer', 'removal cigars', 'removal hash', and a great many other removal things." The paper also com- mented on the fierceness of the debate by saying Kaufman County was "shaken from centre to circumference over the county seat removal question." The result of the election on October 4 was 1,711 votes for Terrell and 1,232 for Kaufman. Since a two-thirds majority was necessary for Terrell to win, Terrell failed to get the county seat by 251 votes. By law, another removal election could not be held for five years, but the Terrellites felt confident of success in the next election. 

Kaufman got a railroad connection in August, 1881. The population of the town began to increase so that, by 1885, it was about 1,200. Despite the face that Kaufman had improved, the old frame courthouse remained, and fears that the building would burn were intensified by the discovery of a small fire on one of the stairways in July, 1885. At the end of July, 1885, a petition calling for another county seat election was circulated at Elmo. The petition, signed by more than 200 voters, was presented to the Commissioners'Court on August 15, and the election was called for September 19. Terrell and Kaufman campaigned even harder than they had in 1879. The Terrell Daily Triumph and the Kaufman Eagle were two newspapers which were published especially for the campaign. The people of Kaufman and Terrell knew that the status of county seat would he an economic boon to whichever town had it; consequently, they used many economic arguments. The Terrellites argued that the county needed one great town, namely Terrell. Kaufmanites claimed that competition between two strong towns would be better for growth. A group of Terrell citizens signed a bond for $30,000 toward building a new courthouse, if the county seat were moved there, while the Kaufman supporters pointed out that such a bond was not legally binding. The Kaufman people also argued that Terrell was too far north for the people of the southern part of the county to travel to easily. Debates were held throughout the county where the claims of both towns could be heard and discussed. The election was held September 19, 1885, and the result was known that night. The official results were 2,501 for Terrell and 2,168 for Kaufman. Since a two-thirds majority was needed, Terrell lost by 612 votes which was more than twice the 1879 margin. Terrell accepted the defeat stoically, while in Kaufman there were bonfires, fireworks, parades, and more rejoicing than had ever been seen before. In December, 1885, the county commissioners voted to build a new $60,000 stone courthouse in Kaufman, and that decision effectively settled permanently the question of moving the county seat to Terrell which had vexed the county for twelve years. 

by Justin M. Sanders from Kaufman County History Vol II 

Copyright Kaufman County Historical Commission 1984 

KAUFMAN COUNTY'S FIRST THREE COURT HOUSES   

On April 17,1851, the townsite of Kaufman was deeded by Francis A. Tabor to special commissioners who had been appointed to lay out the county seat of Kaufman County. The first lots were sold shortly thereafter. The county government moved to the new town in November, 1851 and soon made arrangements for a place to hold court. G. R. Paschal was paid by the county commissioners for having repaired a building in which to hold court in November, 1851. By February, 1852, a building existed which was clearly designated to be the court house, since the commissioners provided that certain elec- tions would be held "at the Court House in the Town of Kaufman."  

This first court house was not on the court house square, instead, it was on the southwest corner of Washington and Mulberry Streets. The one-room, frame structure measured twenty by thirty feet, had two windows, and was heated by a single fireplace. Not surprisingly, this structure soon became too small for the needs of the county; moreover, beginning in 1856, the court house required frequent and expensive repairs. Consequently, the commissioners arranged to have plans drawn for a new court house in October, 1858.  

Bids for the construction of the new court house were recieved in January, 1859. Hugh Yarbrough of Tyler had the best bid, and the contract was made final in August, 1859. Brick for the building was made in Kaufman, while the lumber probably was from Henderson county.  

By April, 1861, the second court house of Kaufman County was complete. It was a two story brick building forty-four feet square. The court room was upstairs, while four offices were downstairs. The northeast corner room was for the County Clerk, the southeast was for the District Clerk, and the two western rooms were for the Sheriff and the County Surveyor, but were reserved for juries during District Court.  

On April 12,1861, the county commissioners voted to accept the court house for $5,800 which was $525 less than the contract price. Chief Justice Cary Cobb thought the building was worth even less than that. He argued that the foundation, bricks, mortar, roof timbers, shingles, and the lumber used in the stairway were all of inferior material. In fact, the commissioners had earlier declared that the brick was unsatisfactory. Despite Cobb's protest, the commissioners upheld the price of $5,800 and moved into the court house on May 20, 1861.  

Almost immediately, Cobb's worst fears came true. In August, 1861, after only three months of use, the roof of the court house was leaking.  In November, 1861, the commissioners set aside $150 to buy iron to brace the building. These efforts were not successful, so the court house was abandoned in November, 1862. A special committee, after examining the building, found that it was unsafe for public use on December 9, 1862.  

The old wooden court house still stood, but it had been sold to M.G.L. Morris in June, 1861; consequently, the county government had no place to go when the brick court house was abandoned. For a few months, the offices of Dr. W. H. Pyle were rented. The county was fortunate that M.G.L. Morris had never paid his note on the old court house, for on May 21,1863, the note was cancelled, and the county got the wooden court house back. After some repairs were made to the building, the county officials moved to it in July, 1863.  

The wooden court house, the county's first, continued its second life throughout the rest of the Civil War, but by June, 1868, it was unsuitable for use. The Presbyterian Church, which then stood on the southwest corner of Houston and Barnes streets, was rented for holding court from August, 1868 to October, 1870. The Methodist Church, which was in the same location as the present one, was used for District Court in February, 1871 and for Grand Jury in June, 1871. The wooden court house was sold again in May, 1870, and burned on April 17, 1883 when it was housing a blacksmith shop.  

During the time that the courts were being held in the churches, the county was building its third court house. In July, 1869, James Brown, a carpenter in Kaufman, was awarded the contract to build a new court house. Although the court house was used for court purposes after June, 1871, it was not completed until August 27, 1872. This third court house was a large, two-story frame building and was fifty feet square. Inside, on the first floor, there were four twenty by twenty foot offices  for the County Judge, County Clerk, Commissioners' Court, Sheriff, and the Tax Assessor and Collector. The single upper room was the court room.  

Although this two-story court house was the largest one that the county had had so far, it soon proved to be too small. Further, because the court house was wooden, fires were constant threats. In 1875, a brick office for the County Clerk was built on the square next to the court house. The Clerk's Office suffered the same fate that the brick court house had; it soon cracked and had to be braced. The commissioners also had two offices built in the upper story of the court house in 1878 to relieve the crowded condi- tions downstairs.  

The concern for fires continued, and after an election in September, 1885 determined that Kaufman would remain the county seat, the commissioners voted, in December, 1885, to build a new, fireproof, stone court house. The architectural firm of Dodson and Dudley of Waco designed the new building, and the firm of Aubrey, Solon, and Laude were awarded the construction contract. The frame court house was moved to the lot at the corner Cherry and Washington streets, beside the jail, in March, 1886 and was used there while the new court house was under construction. In July, 1887, the new court house was accepted, and the frame court house, Kaufman county's third, was demolished.  

by Justin M. Sanders from Kaufman County History Vol II 

Copyright Kaufman County Historical Commission 1984 

OLD STONE COURTHOUSE 

Judge J. E. Dillard, by instruction of the county commissioners, advertised for sealed bids to erect a stone courthouse for Kaufman County.  " The building is to be constructed out of good stone , each stone being personally inspcted by the architect Mr. Dunson of Waco. The building is to be 98 x 114 feet. The outside walls are to be 60 feet high. From the ground to the top of the tower will be 124 feet. The base of the walls will be six feet wide, laid in cement and gravel two feet thick. The foundation stones will be six feet long and one foot thick and laid cross ways. The foundation will be of the very best quality of blue limestone up to the first water table, about four feet. The walls, in and outside, all the way to roof, will be of good stone two feet thick. The corner stones will be of White Kaoline - a very beautiful rock, susceptable of a fine finish. The stairways are to be of iron, excepting those in the tower. There will be three stories - county and district court rooms and clerk's offices and grand jury room. The building will be a facsimile of the Weatherford courthouse save the corners and height of tower, which will be six feet highter than the Weatherford courthouse tower. In the tower there will be a place for a clock, but as yet the court will not buy a clock. The building is to be completed by October Ist 1887. After that date, if the building is not completed according to contract and specifications, a forfeit of fifteen dollars a day will be deducted from cost."  

The commissioners court convened and opened the sealed bids ranging from $67,965.00 to $87,000.00. Low bidder did not accompany his bid by a bond, hence the next lowest bidder was given the contract in the amount of $69,569.00 to Aubrey, Solan and Laude. 

Plans were soon underway for a beautiful new courthouse on the square at Kaufman. The old courthouse was to be moved to an adjoining vacant lot by Mr. John Bryant of Dallas for $450.00. Court will be held in it while the new courthouse is being built. In the March 25, 1886 issue of the Kaufman Sun "Mr. John Bryant of Dallas took hold of the old courthouse Saturday and moved it to the middle of the street. By this evening he will have it located on the jail block, just in front of the jail, where it will remain until the new courthouse is completed, then it will be removed to the poor farm and remodeled into a county hospitol."  In August of 1884 the old jail had been moved to the county farm and a brand new stone jail was built.

On July 9, 1887 the new courthouse was accepted and county officers ordered to move into it. This grand old stone building was to serve the county for over seventy years. 

The clock as mentioned in the specifications was never installed, at least one that had works. The dome with the artificial clocks was removed around 1900 after being struck by lightning several times. The Confederate monument of General Robert E. Lee was erected in 1911 with funds raised by the Daughters of the Confederacy. 

The old stone building was torn down early in 1955 and way was made for a modern two story building. The Confederate monument base and statue were removed for its protection while the old building was being torn down. The monument was polished and replaced on the court yard of the new courthouse. 

Ground breaking ceremonies were conducted in March of 1955 at the site of the new Kaufman County Courthouse. Former County Judge Fred W. Bankhead, who was the County Judge when the new building was authorized and the contract let in late December of 1954, turned the first shovel of dirt. Members of the Commissioners' Court during the planning stage were Oscar Garner, L. E. Bragg, 0. C. Phillips and Harvie Easterly, presided over by Judge Bankhead. 

by Marie Reasonover 
from Kaufman County History Vol II 

Copyright Kaufman County Historical Commission 1984