This Tiny Texas Town Is Home To The Largest Courthouse Square In America
This small Texas town is known for something really big. Graham is home to not only the largest courthouse square in the state, but in all of America. Take a tour:
Settled in 1871, this small North Texas town has a population of less than 9,000. Despite barely being a blip on the map, its historic town square is larger than any other in the nation.
In Graham's earliest years, the only buildings were a gristmill, cotton gin, kiln, two hotels, a handful of stores, and the Young County Courthouse. When oil was discovered nearby in 1917, the economy really took off and allowed for rapid infrastructural expansion.
Although Main Street looks nothing like it did a century ago, the small town spirit has yet to diminish. In fact, the same newspaper that debuted in 1876 is still being printed today.
The first courthouse was built in the same year the newspaper came out, however it has since been replaced twice. One door from the second rendition, however, remains standing and functions just like it used to.
Another notable feature of Graham is how long it maintained a dry status, having just started selling wine and beer as of 2017. The town also has one of the last remaining drive-in movie theaters in Texas.
Katie Lawrence is a Southeast Texas native who graduated 18th in her high school class with a GPA of 4.25. She attended college in the Houston area and changed her major twice (psychology, computer science, and finally criminal justice) before taking a leap of faith and dropping out to pursue a career in freelance writing.
Today, Katie writes for the Texas and Arizona pages of OnlyInYourState.com and has never been more passionate about a job before. Outside of work, you can likely find her curled up on the sofa with a hot cup of coffee, watching a crime TV show or scary movie.
