Ouray in Ouray County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)
True Grit Landmark #10
Ouray County Courthouse
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2025
1. True Grit Landmark #10 Marker
Interior courthouse scenes from the movie True Grit were shot here. Dissatisfied with the sheriff's efforts to track down her father's killer, Mattie takes matters into her own hands. Following Cogburn's testimony, she runs after him down the stairs. While competently rolling a cigarette for Cogburn, Mattie tries to engage the tough U.S. Marshal to apprehend her father's murderer.
Ridgway Sites:
1 Railroad Depot 2 Gallows 3 Livery Stable 4/5 Undertaker & Chen Lee's Place
6 Courthouse Facade 7 True Grit Cafe 8/9 Saloon & Grocery, Jail Wagon
Ouray Sites:
10 Ouray County Courthouse 11 Outlaw Restaurant
Order sites appear in movie: 8, 1, 2, 4, 6, 10, 9, 5, 3
Erected by Ridgway Chamber of Commerce, Ouray County Ranch History Museum & Colorado Tourism Office. (Marker Number 10.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1969.
Location. 38° 1.351′ N, 107° 40.192′ W. Marker is in Ouray, Colorado, in Ouray County. It is on 4th Street just south of 6th Avenue, on the left when traveling south.
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Regionally, this marker is in the Western Slope. It is also in the American Mountain West. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Walsh Bell (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Block 11: 500-548 Main Street (about 400 feet away); Beaumont (about 500 feet away); Beaumont Restoration (about 500 feet away); Block 19: 501-545 Main Street (about 500 feet away); True Grit Landmark #11 (about 600 feet away); Block 18: 601-647 Main Street (about 600 feet away); Ouray Elks Lodge (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Ouray.
Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker. True Grit Filming Landmarks
Also see . . .
1. True Grit (Wikipedia).
Excerpt: True Grit(Submitted on August 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)is a 1969 American Western film directed by Henry Hathaway and produced by Hal B. Wallis. Starring John Wayne as U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn, the story follows Marshal Cogburn and Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Glen Campbell) as they are hired by a young girl, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), to apprehend the outlaw who killed her father.Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 20252. True Grit Landmark #10 MarkerThe marker is located beside the west/front Ouray County Courthouse entrance walkway.
Filming took place mainly in Ouray County, Colorado, in the vicinity of Ridgway, around the town of Montrose, and the town of Ouray. (The script maintains the novel's references to place names in Arkansas and Oklahoma, in dramatic contrast to the Colorado topography.)
2. True Grit Filming Locations (Movie-locations.com).
Excerpt: Its claimed that the interior of the real court was used for filming, but its clear the film uses a smaller and simplified studio reconstruction. The wooden staircase, though, where Mattie first approaches Cogburn, really is in Ouray.(Submitted on August 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2025
3. Ouray County Courthouse Staircase
There is a life-size standing cutout of John Wayne inside the (active) Ouray County Courthouse, honoring the building's and city's cinematic heritage.
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, July 15, 2025
4. Ouray County Courthouse (northwest elevation)
Credits. This page was last revised on August 27, 2025. It was originally submitted on August 26, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 122 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on August 27, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
