Year Built: 1926, 1968
Architect: W. R. Kaufman, Stiles, Roberts and Messersmith
The Cochran County Courthouse is located in Morton, Texas.
🏛️ Cochran County Courthouse: Streamlined Justice in the Far West Plains
Morton, Texas — Out on the western edge of the Texas South Plains, just a few miles from the New Mexico border, stands the Cochran County Courthouse, a clean-lined Art Deco building that has served its rural county for nearly a century. In a town where agriculture, oil, and open sky define daily life, this courthouse remains a focal point of local identity and quiet authority.
Building in Lean Times: The 1939 Courthouse
Cochran County was created in 1876 but wasn’t organized until 1924, making it one of the last Panhandle-South Plains counties to formally establish local government. The first courthouse was a modest two-story structure, but it was quickly outgrown as the county’s agricultural economy and population expanded.
In 1939, with the help of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the county built a new courthouse designed by J.C. Berry, the same Amarillo-based architect responsible for several other Panhandle courthouses during the New Deal era.
This three-story Art Deco structure is constructed of reinforced concrete and clad in smooth limestone. Vertical pilasters and symmetrical lines give it an understated elegance. Like its regional counterparts, the Cochran County Courthouse blends modernist ambition with frontier pragmatism—a nod to the federal government’s investment in rural infrastructure and the county’s desire to project stability in uncertain times.
A Frontier County with Deep Roots
Named for Robert E. Cochran, one of the defenders who died at the Alamo, Cochran County’s history is steeped in frontier resilience. The town of Morton, selected as the county seat in 1924, quickly became the center of civic and commercial life.
The courthouse was built at a time when cotton farming and cattle ranching were expanding, despite the lingering effects of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Its completion marked a new chapter in the county’s development—an architectural statement that law, order, and civic responsibility had taken root even on the far western edge of Texas.
Courtroom Conversations and Quiet Cases
Cochran County hasn’t made headlines for major trials, but its courthouse has quietly shaped the lives of local residents for generations. Issues like land boundary disputes, grazing leases, oil and gas royalties, and family estate mattershave been the everyday business of the courts here.
As a real estate lawyer, I find this especially interesting: rural courthouses like this one are the places where abstract legal doctrines meet real land, real fences, and real neighbors. It’s where handshake deals from decades ago are clarified or contested, and where the county’s natural resources are administered under the watchful eye of Texas law.
The courthouse lawn has seen its share of community gatherings—from parades to prayer vigils—and remains a space where public life unfolds in small but meaningful ways.
Inside and Out: A Building That Still Works
The courthouse continues to serve its original function. The District Court, County Clerk, County Judge, and other offices still operate from within its walls. While there have been minor renovations over the years, much of the original structure remains intact.
The main courtroom is located on the top floor, complete with tall windows, original woodwork, and built-in benches that have held generations of jurors, attorneys, and spectators. There’s something grounding about the space—it’s not grand, but it’s dignified, and it does the job it was built to do.
A West Texas Statement of Purpose
Cochran County’s courthouse may not be ornate, but that’s part of its appeal. Its simple geometry, New Deal-era optimism, and quiet durability are all part of what makes it worth preserving.
For those interested in Texas courthouse architecture, agricultural law, or rural development, this building tells an important story: even in lean times, public investment in justice and infrastructure was seen as vital to community life. And nearly a century later, it’s still delivering on that promise.
🔗 Visit the Official Site
To learn more about local government services, history, or county operations, visit the official Cochran County website.