Firm History
Fultz & Fultz was established by the husband and wife team of Joseph Donald Fultz and Artie McWhorter Fultz in 1938.
Artie M. Fultz passed the Texas State Bar in 1936. She graduated from Iola High School at the age of 15. After graduation she began working as a Secretary for local attorney W. E. Barron. During her employment with Mr. Barron, Artie was encouraged to study the law and after a self-driven personal study of the law, she was licensed in 1936 at the age of 20, becoming the youngest woman to pass the Texas Bar. Also during her time with Mr. Barron, Artie worked as a title abstractor and recognized the need for a title company in the county, so she created Navasota Abstract Co., Inc. to serve Grimes County.
Joseph Donald Fultz attended the University of Texas School of Law and was licensed before the Supreme Court of Texas in 1937. After passing the bar and marrying, Artie and Joe returned to Grimes County and began the firm of Fultz & Fultz in 1938. After being officed in the old Citizens National Bank building in downtown Navasota, the couple decided to move their office to the county seat, Anderson, Texas. In 1946, however, the firm moved its offices back to downtown Navasota, combining the title company and the law firm into one office.
After their return to Navasota, the couple bought a beautiful turn of the century home at 1400 E. Washington Avenue to rear their three children, Bonnie Fultz Armstrong, Joe King Fultz, Sr., and John M. Fultz.
Joe was elected as Grimes County Attorney after the return to the county, but had to take a leave of absence to assist in the Attorney General’s Office in Austin under Grover Sellers. Artie was appointed to fill his then unexpired term, becoming the only female ever to serve as Grimes County Attorney. Joe was elected to serve another term as County Attorney before his death in 1964, at which time Artie M. Fultz was again appointed County Attorney to complete her husband’s unexpired term.
Artie continued as a solo practitioner until 1970 when she married Richard N. Davis, Jr., a graduate of St. Mary’s School of Law, and the firm became Fultz & Davis.
John M. Fultz, son of Joseph Donald Fultz and Artie M. Fultz, returned to Navasota to join the firm in 1978. John M. Fultz graduated from The University of Texas at Austin in 1972 and received his JD from South Texas College of Law in 1977. The three attorneys practiced together until the death of Richard N. Davis, Jr., in 1988. In the early 90s, the two moved from their downtown office to a location on LaSalle separating the law firm and title company offices.
In 1999, Jon C. Fultz, son of John M. Fultz, joined the firm to work with his father and grandmother. Jon C. Fultz graduated from Texas A&M University in 1996 and received his JD from South Texas College of Law in 1999. These three practiced together until the death of Artie Fultz Davis in 2006.
The firm returned to its original name, though now a Professional Limited Liability Company, Fultz & Fultz, PLLC, 2007, with John M. Fultz and Jon C. Fultz as the two practicing attorneys. In 2010, Jennifer Fultz, daughter of John M. Fultz and sister of Jon C. Fultz, joined the firm. She graduated from Texas A&M University in 2003 and received her JD from Texas A&M School of Law (formerly Texas Wesleyan University School of Law) in 2009.
In 2013, the three moved offices to the turn of the century home of the late Artie Fultz Davis located at 1400 E. Washington Ave. in Navasota. The firm, now the oldest firm in Grimes County, proudly continues to provide legal services to many of the same clients and families previously served by the firm’s founders..
