The District Court Oak is a handsome post oak. Located near Weatherford, Texas, it is a mere vestige of the old Fort Worth-Fort Belknap Stageline Road. The year was 1842 and James J. Beeman moved from Missouri to Texas. He settled in the Dallas area.
Shortly before Parker County came into being, Beeman moved about 30 miles west of Fort Worth. He built a log cabin behind what would come to be known as the District Court Oak. At the time, it was about a day’s travel from Fort Worth and about 60 miles further west to Fort Belknap, in what is now Young County.
Beeman’s Fort, which is what the locals would come to call the location, was a welcome stop to those weary travelers. At Beeman’s, folks could receive food and lodging as well as a respite from the harsh Texas sun. The tree provided excellent shade. Even to this day, slight depressions in the ground near the oak indicate where Beeman’s cellar and a well were. There’s a small pile of stones near the cellar which marks the approximate location of the fireplace.
In 1855, Parker County was created. At the time, Beeman’s Fort was the closest thing to a town that the county could boast of. The newly elected judge of the 16th Judicial District in Dallas was an old friend of James Beeman’s. It’s not surprising that he decided to hold the first session of his court in Parker County at Beeman’s Fort. On June 2, 1856, Judge Nathaniel G. Burford convened his court under the District Court Oak, hence the name.
The site of this first session of this district court was so marked by the State of Texas during the Centennial Year celebrations in 1936. Today, the District Court Oak can be found at the BenDora Brown Swiss Dairy, north of the town of Weatherford.
For more information on famous Texas trees, please keep reading our blog. We often post about them.
