On this wall, you will find two more excellent examples of original courthouse signage. The county used to allow abstract companies to rent space inside the courthouse so that citizens securing land deeds could have everything conveniently located within the same building – a concept still being adhered to today with the current use of the Ellis County Central Building on Rogers Street. Note the artisanship of a bygone era; instead of simply drawing an arrow, the painters took the time to illustrate a pointing hand.

     Below the abstract company signage, you will see a vintage interoffice mail cabinet. On the surface, this antique furniture does not appear to be anything special. However, it is believed that the drawers could only be opened in a certain order known only to county employees as a security measure, although nobody has been able to locate the key to open the first drawer and verify whether this is the case. This cabinet, along with nearly 300 other historic pieces of furniture in the Historic Courthouse, was refurbished by the late, great Ralph Reynolds during the courthouse restoration project.