Cooke County Courthouse
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name = Cooke County Courthouse
| nrhp_type =
| image = Cooke County Courthouse Gainesville Wiki (1 of 1).jpg
| caption = Cooke County Courthouse (2021)
| location = 101 S Dixon St, Gainesville, Texas
| coordinates = {{coord|33|37|25|N|97|08|44|W|region:US_type:landmark|name=Cooke County Courthouse|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin = Texas#USA
| built = {{Start date|1912}}
| architecture = École des Beaux-Arts
| added = March 22, 1991
| area =
| refnum = 91000336{{NRISref|version=2013a}}
| architect = Lang & Witchell
}}The Cooke County Courthouse is a historic courthouse in Gainesville, Texas. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.{{Cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/AssetDetail/NRIS/91000336 }}
History
The courthouse was designed by Lang & Witchell, and was constructed in 1912.{{Cite web |title=History of Gainesville, Texas |url=http://www.gainesvilletxhousingauthority.com/about/history-of-gainesville |access-date=2024-08-21 |website=www.gainesvilletxhousingauthority.com}} It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991, and designated a Texas Historic Landmark in 1988.{{Cite web |title=Details - Cooke County Courthouse - Atlas Number 5097001055 - Atlas: Texas Historical Commission |url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5097001055 |access-date=2024-08-21 |website=atlas.thc.state.tx.us}}
= Confederate monument =
File:Confederate monument detail Cooke County Courthouse Gainesville Wiki (1 of 1) (cropped).jpg
On the lawn of the courthouse stands a monolith topped by a 1911 statue of a Confederate soldier. The inscription at the base of the statue reads, “no nation rose so white and fair none fell so pure of crime” in reference to the Southern cause.{{Cite web |last=Campbell |first=Steve |title=Gainesville's dark past still stirring passions |url=https://www.statesman.com/story/news/2012/10/15/gainesvilles-dark-past-still-stirring-passions/9853690007/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Austin American-Statesman |language=en-US}} In 2020, in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the removal of Confederate statues across the United States, Cooke County Commissioners voted to retain the statue outside the courthouse.{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Simone |title=Gainesville's County Commissioners Vote to Keep Courthouse Confederate Monument |url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/gainesville-county-commissioners-vote-to-keep-courthouse-confederate-monument-11936116 |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Dallas Observer |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Carter |first=Simone |title=A Gainesville Confederate Statue is Gone. Activists Say There's More Work to Be Done. |url=https://www.dallasobserver.com/news/a-gainesville-confederate-statue-is-gone-activists-say-theres-more-work-to-be-done-12035619 |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Dallas Observer |language=en}} Protesters advocating against the statue were later sentenced to prison time for "obstructing a highway".{{Cite web |date=2024-06-30 |title=ACLU asking U.S. Supreme Court to overturn conviction of Gainesville protestors |url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/courts/2024/06/30/aclu-asking-us-supreme-court-to-overturn-conviction-of-gainesville-protestors/ |access-date=2024-10-26 |website=Dallas News |language=en}} The protesters petitioned their case to the U.S. Supreme Court, who in 2024 declined to review the case.{{Cite news |last=Reichmann |first=Kelsey |date=July 16, 2024 |title=Supreme Court wills Confederate monument protesters to jail despite appeal |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/supreme-court-wills-confederate-monument-protesters-to-jail-despite-appeal/ |work=Courthouse News Service}}