Published: October 26, 2009 08:23 am      

Cooke County Judge shares fond memories of courthouse and plans for restoration

For Cooke County Judge John Roane, restoring the courthouse is an act to preserve both the county’s history and his own.

The courthouse was built almost 100 years ago in 1911, by architects Lang & Witchell. Thirty-five years later, Roane was born eight blocks away in what used to be the Gainesville Sanitarium.

As a child, Roane’s father was active in the military causing the family to move around a lot. But whenever his father was granted leave, Roane’s family always came back to Cooke County.

“We didn’t take vacations anywhere else,” said Roane. “We always came back. I can always remember as a young man, anxiously looking for the courthouse because that always symbolized to me that we were back home in Cooke County and back home with my grandparents and all the other family.”

Coincidentally, Roane’s grandparents — who lived on the corner of Garnett and Rusk — only lived five blocks away from the courthouse.

During Roane’s junior year of high school, his father retired in time for him to complete school at Valley View High School. He graduated in 1964.

One year later, the courthouse would serve as another important symbol to Roane — the place where his wife, Gail, first noticed him.

While ‘dragging main’ in May of 1965, Roane had stopped his car at the corner of Commerce and California. Roane said he heard somebody shout his name but when he looked around, he could not see anyone.

“I finally realized it was coming from up on top of the courthouse and Gail and a group of her friends were up on top of the courthouse for some kind of meeting,” he said. “She had hollered at me and that’s the first time I guess I realized she knew I was alive and that I existed. It was a thrill.”

Shortly afterwards, added Roane, the two began dating and “have gone together ever since.”

Following in his father’s footsteps, Roane began a military career of his own after he graduated from Cooke County Junior College (now NCTC) and North State University (now UNT).

After a 20 year career in the United States Airforce, Roane retired and came back to Cooke County, but no matter where the family lived they always found their way back to where John and Gail Roane always considered home.

“During my military career, we still continued to come back to Cooke County all of the time,” said Roane. “Once again the courthouse became, even to my kids, a symbol that we had arrived back in Cooke County.”

Now serving as the Cooke County judge, Roane said he is eager to witness the restoration of the courthouse.

Aug. 1, 2009 marked the official move-out date from the courthouse to the Court Annex Building. While Roane was present for the final Commissioners Court in the courthouse, which was held July 27, 2009, he will not be able to conduct court back in the courthouse for at least two more years.

The state of Texas was given a grant of a little more than $4 million by the Texas Historical Courthouse Preservation Program. Out of those funds, Roane said Cooke County is expected to receive around $780,000 or 14 percent of the overall amount given to use for the restoration of the Cooke County courthouse.

Currently the abatement process to remove asbestos present in the floors and walls is wrapping up, he added. The next step is for the county to hire a construction manager.

Requests for proposals have been sent out for prospective construction managers, said Roane, and the county expects to have that information back by November 20. From there, the hired construction manager will put together a team of subcontractors and move forward with the actual renovation process.

The goal of the courthouse restoration, according to Roane, is to restore the Cooke County Courthouse to its original design and look. Not only will the floors be repaired to resemble their original look, but all original glass and hardware will be restored including the stained glass in the ceiling of the courthouse, which will have to be taken out piece-by-piece to be cleaned.

The courthouse will also be painted to its original colors which will be different shades of gold and green. The current pink color inside, said Roane, will be gone.

Over the years, false ceilings were placed inside the courtroom which will also be removed. As a result, the top two levels of the south side of the courthouse will become the county court at law, while the district court will be on the north side of the top two levels.

Unfortunately for Roane and others who spent their childhood in Gainesville, a source of past time fun may be removed from the courthouse — the fire escape slides located on the sides of the building.

Those slides were not a part of the original courthouse designed, and thus will not be included in the restoration. Roane said he understands the decision for liability sake but is still saddened to see the slides go.

“I think to me and a lot of people in the county, the slides have really become a part of the courthouse,” said Roane. “It’s just hard to say how many Cooke County residents have at one time or another been up and down those slides.

I think one of my greatest memories was learning that you don’t slide down with short pants in the summertime. Other than that, it was great fun.”

The courthouse renovation is expected to be completed in two years. Until that time, Roane said he is eagerly waiting to work in the building that has been such a significant symbol in his life.

“It’s just pretty special to me to be in a position where the courthouse, hopefully one day, will be my office,” said Roane. “It just has a lot of meaning to me and I’m excited to see what happens.”