The 1901 Harrison County Courthouse is the third government structure to occupy the square of land donated in 1841 for a "Temple of Justice" by Marshall founder Peter Whetstone. According to local legend, Whetstone, who was on the site selection committee, invited County commissioners to visit his land grant in present-day Marshall, and offered acreage for a courthouse and lots for development. One commissioner reputedly remarked that the land looked very "dry."

Selection of County Seat. Max Cole, Historical Museum

Whetstone reached into a hole in a nearby tree trunk and produced a jug of whiskey, thus assuring that his land would become the new seat of government.

The first courthouse was probably a log building, located off the central square.

The County prospered, aided by a rich cotton plantation economy and the availability of steamboat transportation from Caddo Lake to major markets. This transportation link also promoted land commerce. In 1850, the County was the richest in the state, with the largest population of African Americans.

In 1847, the County began to build a brick courthouse in the middle of the square. Completed by 1851, this handsome classical structure was dubbed the "Little Virginia Courthouse," serving for more than three decades as the center of community life, a setting for parades, town meetings, speeches, politics, and the storehouse for County records.

Marshall played an important role during the Civil War, supplying goods and ammunition to the Confederacy, offering native sons as soldiers and leaders, and hosting the Confederate government of Missouri after the fall of Vicksburg. The War eliminated the cotton economy and steamship traffic declined after 1873, when the water level at Caddo Lake went down.

Second Courthouse, 1847-1851. Historical Museum