The Athens square has carried four county courthouses

Henderson County moved through three earlier courthouses before the building that anchors the Athens square today. The county approved its contract in June 1913 and accepted the finished courthouse in January 1914.

Dallas architects L. L. Thurmon and Company designed a Classical Revival building meant to look permanent after decades of civic change. Its raised center, columns, and corner pavilions still give the square its shape.

The courthouse is more than an old office. It explains why streets, shops, public events, and local memory keep circling the same block in Athens.