The Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse, top right, and the Austin History Center, bottom left, sit on opposite sides of Wooldridge Square Park in west downtown. (Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
Austin City Council authorized a five-year agreement with Travis County Oct. 8 to share historical research and explore creating a historic district downtown around the 1931 Heman Marion Sweatt Travis County Courthouse.
The details
The city and county will share research and collaborate on exhibits, events and heritage tourism, according to city council records, and the deal opens the door to “the potential creation of a historic district” downtown.
The partnership is part of a “History Corridor” effort linking the Sweatt courthouse and the Austin History Center, according to Travis County Historical Commission records. The history center will administer the agreement for the city and the commission for the county.
The 1933 Austin Public Library building at 810 Guadalupe St. faces the Sweatt courthouse across Wooldridge Square Park. It served as the city’s main library until 1979 and is now part of the Austin History Center.(Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
The agreement runs through Oct. 31, 2031, with an option for one 12-month extension. and either side can exit with 30 days’ notice, according to its terms. It carries no fiscal impact, and neither government is obligated to pay the other. Travis County commissioners unanimously approved the interlocal agreement Sept. 9 as part of their consent agenda, according to county records.
The backstory
In 1946, UT’s law school denied Heman Marion Sweatt admission under state segregation laws and he sued in Travis County District Court, according to the county archives. Thurgood Marshall argued the case in the courthouse, according to a historical marker there. Sweatt lost at trial but won at the U.S. Supreme Court in 1950.
The Sweatt courthouse, at 1000 Guadalupe St., still houses some county offices, including a justice of the peace court and the state business court.(Jessica McLaren/Community Impact)
The county renamed the courthouse for Sweatt in 2005, moved its civil and family courts out in 2022 and approved $100,000 in 2023 for a preservation architect, as Community Impact reported in May 2025. County Judge Andy Brown has suggested the building could become museum space and the nearby planned light rail station could be called the “Museum District” stop. Restoring the courthouse would cost an estimated $124 million, and the county has earmarked $10 million toward it.
What’s next
The agreement takes effect once it is signed by both governments’ authorized representatives, according to its terms.
Community Impact reached out to the Austin Public Library Oct. 8 for comment and did not receive answers by press time. This story will be updated if more information becomes available.
