Sondra Hernandez Staff writer October 1, 2024

The Montgomery County Historical Commission is preserving the past while looking to the future with a new video series titled “Miracle City Moments.” 

The first installment in the series was recently released and focuses on the history of the Montgomery County Courthouse built in 1936. Zach Sisson, the commission member who helped produce the video, hopes to release two to three videos a year focused on Montgomery County history. 

The video is a little over 2 minutes and covers how Conroe became the county seat at the courthouses from the 1800s through today’s current courthouse. 

“I am very proud of what MCHC members Zach Sisson, Aaron Deyang and Kirsten Beard and their team have produced,” said Larry Foerster, chairman of the historical commission. “As we prepare for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 1936 courthouse, we want to feature other courthouse stories, including its Art Deco architecture and its vacant jail on the 4th and 5th floors.”

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History of Montgomery County

Montgomery County was created on Dec. 14, 1837, by an act of the Congress of the Republic of Texas and signed into law by President Sam Houston. It was the third county created by the Republic of Texas. The first county seat was in the town of Montgomery. 

After a county wide election in 1889, the county seat was moved to Conroe. The home of town founder Isaac Conroe on Avenue A served as the first courthouse in Conroe until a permanent courthouse could be constructed. 

The first Conroe courthouse was constructed in 1891. Capitalizing on the prosperous period following the Conroe oil boom in the 1930s, county commissioners decided to build another courthouse on the same location and it opened with an art deco style in 1936. The fourth and fifth floors of the courthouse were used as a jail until 1985. 

The courthouse experienced additions and updates in 1966 and 1980 and is still in use today by county government. 

What is the historical commission? 

The Montgomery County Historical Commission is an arm of Montgomery County government and not a nonprofit organization. All 254 Texas county historical commissions are created under Chapter 318 of the Texas Local Government Code.

The group however, does work closely with other history based nonprofits such as the Montgomery County Genealogy and Historical Society and the Heritage Museum of Montgomery County. 

As of January, the county’s historical commission had 38 members who are appointed for two-year terms by the county’s Commissioners Court. Commission volunteers support numerous preservation projects in the county. 

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Sisson graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in history and minor in Chinese. He lived in China following graduation and settled in Montgomery County with his wife upon their return to the states. 

A former U.S. history teacher, he was looking to get engaged in local history and joined the historical commission. He had a background in videography and that caught Foerster’s attention. 

With the courthouse approaching 90 years in 2026, commission members felt that should be a focus for the first video. 

The process started last fall and it was released recently. 

1930s film footage of downtown Conroe

The Heritage Museum of Montgomery County supplied many of the photos and 1930s video footage of downtown Conroe came from the family of Conroe businessman Bill Moran. 

Sisson also worked with his coworker Deyang, Beard and seasoned Conroe filmmaker, Gary Parker with Dynamic Global Media, gave his expertise. 

Melissa Sargent narrates the video. She is a voice actress and had radio shows in El Paso before moving to Montgomery County. 

“She has an amazing radio voice,” Sisson said. “Having Melissa come in and narrate it tied it up with a beautiful bow.” 

Future projects

The videos will be available on the Montgomery County Historical Commission website and on YouTube. 

Sisson is looking at the Crighton Theatre, the Bonnie and Clyde bridge and their time in Conroe and the history of the Alabama–Coushatta Tribe of Texas as future video subjects.

Foerster would also like to see a video related to the former jail at the top of the courthouse.

Sisson hopes to have the next video ready in the spring. 

See the video section of the historical commission website for other videos about Thomas Chapel church, 1950s and 1960s era trail rides, the Bonnie and Clyde bridge and what Conroe looked liked in the 1930s. 

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