Part 3, Note 7

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Colorado County District Court Records, Minute Book A, p. 1; Colorado Citizen, October 22, 1889. The date of the session is given as "April term 1837." Williamson, as judge of the Third Judicial District, was required by law to conduct court twice a year in six different counties over a six week period, beginning his circuit on the first Mondays in March and September. Colorado County was the fifth stop on the circuit, meaning that Williamson should have been there on the fifth Monday of his tour, or April 3 (see Gammel, comp., The Laws of Texas 1822-1897, vol. 1, pp. 1258-1259). Many writers have stated that the first session of court was held under an oak tree, however, the above cited issue of the local newspaper states that it was held "in a log house near the river, long since gone to decay." Since it is known that there was a schoolhouse near the river as early as 1833, and since it probably contained the space that the court needed, it is likely that this, the earliest account of the session that mentions a location, is correct.