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 April 19, 2009 | Red River County Courthouse Texas County Courthouse Project #79: Red River County (Clarksville, Texas) Named Rio Rojo by the Spanish for the red clay found in the riverbed, the Red River separates Red River County from Oklahoma and is the source of the county’s name. In the early 1800’s many American settlers moved to the area assuming it was a section of the Louisiana Purchase acquired by the United States. It wasn’t until the United States refused to issue land grants that the settlers turned to the Mexican government for valid land titles. After the Texas Revolution, Red River County encompassed most of northeast Texas and included all or parts of 39 current Texas counties. James Clark was a justice of the peace and a representative from Jonesborough which was the county seat of Morris County, Arkansas (now Red River County, Texas). In 1833 he moved his family south and founded the town of Clarksville. The uncertainty of whether the area belonged to the United States or Mexico ended (at least for the settlers) when James Clark raised a company of riflemen known as the Red River Blues and headed south to help fight for Texas independence. After the Texas Revolution Clarksville became the county seat of Red River County in the Republic of Texas. The 1884 Red River courthouse is one of the most impressive in Northeast Texas. The clock tower is known by the residents as “Old Red” and the entire structure went through recent renovations. My Dad and I were lucky enough to get there early enough that we were able to visit the courtroom which has been returned to its original look (See my Flickr photostream). |
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