The first Black attorney to try a case in the county courthouse

Name: The first Black attorney to try a case in the county courthouse
Start: 1948

First1948. Card 132 of 165.

The city’s 2000 National Register documentation says that in 1948 the first African American attorney to try a case in the Smith County Courthouse won his case in the 7th Judicial District Court.

It does not name him.

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Sources

National Register Multiple Property Documentation Form: Historic and Architectural Resources of Tyler, Texas (Diane E. Williams, 2000; THC Atlas)atlas.thc.texas.govIn 1948 the first African-Americanto try a case in the Smith County Courthouse won his case in the 7th Judicial District Court, and in so doing boosted local pride in African American achievements.

Checked October 15, 2026. How the cards are filed

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Related cards

The city’s survey dates Tyler’s first Black officers to the 1940s

Construction begins on Camp Fannin

Prisoners of war arrive at Camp Fannin