USGenWeb TXGenWeb
The TXGenWeb Project


Court Records & Courthouses

Click here to see "Elections & Officials"

If you have any info on Elected Officials of Rockwall County & would like to share them, contact

Click here to see "County Seat Information for 1876-1877"
Judge, County Clerk, District Clerk, County Attorney, Sherriff & more

Rockwall's Court House History

The first Rockwall County Courthouse was a building that was located on what is now the southeast corner of the Rockwall town square. It was destroyed by fire on March 16, 1875. All court records were lost.

In 1878 a new wooden courthouse was built, but fearing another fire would destroy their government documents again, the Commissioners had a stone annex building constructed where all records were kept.

Photo Submitted by Perry Robertson
2nd Rockwall County Court House
The decision to build the a stone annex for courthouse records proved to be a premonition on the part of the county's officials, because the second courthouse burned on 27 Jan 1892.

Kaufman Sun - 28 Jan 1892

Temporarily the Lovejoy Block building, erected in 1885 and located on the town square, was made into a make-shift courthouse until the third courthouse was planned and built starting in the summer of 1892. The below newspaper article is dated July 28, 1892.

The following is from Dallas Morning News - 23 April 1893.


The first courthouse to be erected in the center of Rockwall's town square, the Third Courthouse was made from native sandstone and was sturdy except that the mortar used was an inferior grade and began deteriorating. By 1920 the upper stories of the courthouse were vacated and not usable, and by 1940 the County Commissioners decided it had to be replaced and the building was soon demolished.


Photo Courtesy Rockwall County Genealogical Society

Rockwall County's 3rd Court House

Below are Photos showing the Demolition of the 3rd Courthouse in 1941.

Demolition well underway

Demolition nearly completed - note the surrounding businesses on the square

In 1941 a new brick and stone courthouse was built in the same place. This building has been used more than 60 years.


Rockwall's 4th County Courthouse - Photo circa 1950

How it looks today

Return to Rockwall County Website

This site is part of the TXGenWeb project and maintained by Contact: Jeff Lowe
Content of this site has been gathered from many sources and transcribed records. Therefore, errors may occur. When in doubt as to the accuracy of data contained herein, go to the actual records yourself.  If you find any inaccurate data, please let me know.  The information contained in this website is for your personal use only.  All pages, compilations, transcriptions and abstracts are protected by copyright law and may not be published in whole or in part without written consent of the author, contributor and/or webmaster.

© 1996-2022, TXGenWeb Project Volunteers, All rights reserved. Contents my be used with electronic or written permission only.