Architect: Frederick Ernst (“F.E.”) Ruffini
Year Built: 1886
The “Old” Blanco County Courthouse is located in Blanco, Texas. Completed in 1886, this courthouse only served 4 years. Its predecessor was built in 1860, and its tenure was cut short when in 1890 the Blanco county seat was moved a few miles north to Johnson City
Blanco County was formed on February 12, 1858, from parts of Comal, Hays, Burnet, and Gillespie counties and named for the Blanco River. Some historians believe that Blanco County also acquired two small unattached pieces of Travis County. The total area of the new county was 1,043 square miles.
The act that established Blanco County also stipulated that the county seat should be called Blanco and that an election should be held to determine the location, which should be within five miles of the center of the county. A spot on the north bank of Martin’s Fork of the Blanco River, just across from Pittsburgh, was chosen as the site for the new town.
A courthouse was erected on the town square in 1860. It was replaced in 1885 by a limestone structure that came to be known as the Old Courthouse, which fell into private hands after Johnson City became the county seat. A “new” courthouse was built in Johnson City in 1916.
The town of Blanco served as the county seat of Blanco County from 1858 until 1890.
