Texas Courthouses
There are 254 Texas counties, and many counties have more than one courthouse. Like other enthusiasts, I – with wife and dogs in tow – have set out to visit all of the historic Texas courthouses (yes, that’s a thing), and have dedicated this page to posting pictures and videos from our visits.
I have handled cases in many of these courthouses, but cannot choose a favorite. I love so many of them, but am partial to the designs of architects Alfred Giles and James Riely Gordon, both of whom were very active in and around San Antonio in the 1800s. I am also a fan of W.C. Dodson‘s designs, though his style varied significantly throughout his career.
I hope you enjoy experiencing the many architectural styles of these fantastic buildings. I will continue to add pictures to this page as we get the chance to experience “new” courthouses.
NOTES:
– All photos and videos on this page taken by Trey Wilson.
– This page is best viewed on on a desktop. The alignment and labels may be off when viewed from a mobile device.
– Click on the individual photos to enlarge. Some were taken with Canon cameras, and others with iPhones, so quality may vary.
– I make my living doing something other than taking pictures (practicing real estate law), so feel free to share or republish my photos if you are so inclined. I would appreciate photo attribution to @treywilsonattorneytx.
– I post some of the Courthouse photos I take on Instagram at @TreyWilsonAttorneyTx. Look for #texascourthouse and #countycourthouse to see additional pictures taken by me and other Texas courthouse enthusiasts. Sometimes I post short, cheesy courthouse videos to TikTok under my handle @treywilsonattorneytx.
– Learn about the Texas Historical Commission’s Courthouse Stewardship and Historic Courthouse Preservation Programs.
– A sampling of pictures from my visits to other courthouses, including the United States Supreme Court Building in Washington, D.C., will also be posted on this page. I have labeled the non-Texas, replaced and abandoned courthouses as “BONUS.”
– If you are interested in historical Texas Courthouses, here are some great websites:
- 254 Texas Courthouses
- TexasCourthouses.com
- Texas Courthouse Trail
- Texas Escapes
- Texas Association of Counties
- Texas Historic Commission Restored Courthouses
- Architexas Historic Texas Courthouses Projects page
The Texas State Historical Association‘s Handbook of Texas is my GO-TO resource for research into the counties I visit.
Erath County Courthouse (Stephenville)
Year Built: 1892 Architect: J. Riely Gordon The Erath County Courthouse is located in Stephenville, Texas. Founded in 1854 and named for early settler and land donor John M. Stephen, the town of Stephenville became county seat when Erath County was created in 1856....
Ellis County Courthouse (Waxahachie)
Year Built: 1897 Architect: J. Riely Gordon The Ellis County Courthouse is located in Waxahachie, Texas.Ellis County's first courthouse was made of cedar logs and built here in 1850. A second courthouse was built on this square in 1853 and a third in 1874. In 1894...
Llano County Courthouse (Llano)
Year Built: 1893 Architect: A. O. Watson and Jacob Larmour The Llano County Courthouse is located in Llano, Texas. The 1892 courthouse, designed by the firm of A. 0. Watson, replaced a 1884 courthouse that was destroyed by fire. The ground floor is divided into four...
Kinney County Courthouse (Brackettville)
Year Built: 1910 Architect: L.L. Thurman of Dallas The Kinney County Courthouse is located in Brackettville, Texas. Kinney County Courthouse Human inhabitation of Kinney County began thousands of years ago. Spanish expeditions through the area began in 1535 and...
Kent County Courthouse (Jayton)
Year Built: 1957 Architect: Wyatt Hedrick The Kent County Courthouse is located in Jayton, Texas. Kent County has been home to two temples of justice. The inaugural courthouse was raised in the original county seat of Clairemont in 1893 in an Italianate style as...
Kenedy County Courthouse (Sarita)
Year Built: 1917 Architect: Henry Truman Phelps The Kenedy County Courthouse is located in Sarita, Texas. San Antonio architect Henry T. Phelps designed this classic 3-story courthouse for Willacy County in 1917. However, when Kenedy County was created from Willacy...
Jones County Courthouse (Anson)
Year Built: 1910 Architect: Elmer George Withers The Jones County Courthouse is located in Anson, Texas. The Seventh Texas Legislature created Jones County in 1858 and named it for Anson Jones, the last president of the Republic of Texas. The Civil War,...
Johnson County Courthouse (Cleburne)
Year Built: 1913 Architect: Lang and Witchell with Charles E. Barglebaugh The Johnson County Courthouse is located in Cleburne, Texas. Architect Wesley Clarke Dodson of Waco, Texas designed this Second Empire style courthouse for Johnson County. It suffered the fate...
Jasper County Courthouse (Jasper)
Year Built: 1889 Architect: Eugene T. Heiner The Jasper County Courthouse is located in Jasper, Texas. Jasper County was one of the original twenty-three counties created when the Republic of Texas was established in 1836 following the Texas Revolution. Bevil...
Jack County Courthouse (Jacksboro)
Year Built: 1940 Architect: Voelcker and Dixon The Jack County Courthouse is located in Jacksboro, Texas.Removed 1885 from third Jack County Courthouse when building was razed. Mounted here in 1966. Old Courthouse was of native limestone, quarried in Jacksboro. For...
Hill County Courthouse (Hillsboro)
Year Built: 1890/1997 Architect: W. C. Dodson The Hill County Courthouse is located in Hillsboro, Texas. The fourth courthouse for Hill County (organized in 1853) and the third one located in Hillsboro, this impressive landmark replaced a brick court building erected...
Hidalgo County Courthouse (Edinburg)
Year Built: 1954 Architect: R. Newell Waters The Hidalgo County Courthouse is located in Edinburg, Texas. This building served as the Hidalgo County Courthouse from its construction in 1886 until the County Seat was moved to Chapin (later name Edinburg) in 1908. Made...
Henderson County Courthouse (Athens)
Year Built: 1913 Architect: L. L. Thurman The Henderson County Courthouse is located in Athens, Texas. The Texas Legislature created Henderson County in 1846. For the next few years, county commissioners met at various locations, including private homes and the...
Parker County Courthouse (Weatherford)
Year Built: 1884-86 Architect: Dodson & Dudley The Parker County Courthouse is located in Weatherford, Texas. "The Parker County Courthouse is an eye-catcher. Its tall central tower and four corner pavilions with handsome mansard roofs are a naive and charming...
Panola County Courthouse (Carthage)
Year Built: 1953 Architect: Preston M. Green The Panola County Courthouse is located in Carthage, Texas. The Panola County Courthouse was built in 1953 in a Modern style as designed by Preston M. Geren. The original county seat was Pulaski located some 15 miles east...
Palo Pinto County Courthouse (Palo Pinto)
Year Built: 1940 Architect: Preston M. Geren and M.A. Howell The Palo Pinto County Courthouse is located in Palo Pinto, Texas. Palo Pinto County was created in 1856 and named for a creek south of here that was perhaps named by Spanish explorers of the Brazos River...
Orange County Courthouse (Orange)
Year Built: 1937 Architect: C. H. Page The Orange County Courthouse is located in Orange, Texas. The earliest trials in Orange County were conducted beneath shade trees or in a room above a Water Street business house shared by the Masonic Lodge. The first official...
Nolan County Courthouse (Sweetwater)
Year Built: 1977 Architect: Welch and Hampton The Nolan County Courthouse is located in Sweetwater, Texas. The present-day Nolan County Courthouse was erected in 1977 in a Moderne style with a polished granite veneer as designed by Welch and Hampton. Nolan County was...
Newton County Courthouse (Newton)
Year Built: 1902 Architect: Martin and Moodiee The Newton County Courthouse is located in Newton, Texas. In August of 2000, the Newton County Courthouse burned to the ground while a crowd of grieving Newton citizens watched. She had been a part of their lives since...
Navarro County Courthouse (Corsicana)
Year Built: 1905 Architect: J. E. Flanders The Navarro County Courthouse is located in Corsicana, Texas. Navarro County was created in 1846 by an act of the first Texas Legislature. It was named for early statesman Jose Antonio Navarro (1795-1871), a signer of the...
Nacogdoches County Courthouse (Nacogdoches)
Year Built: 1958 Architect: J. N. McCammon The Nacogdoches County Courthouse is located in Nacogdoches, Texas. Designed by architect J. N. McCammon, this is certainly one of the more unusual courthouse designs in Texas. In his guidebook to Texas courthouses, Dr....
Mitchell County Courthouse (Colorado City)
Year Built: 1924 Architect: David Castle The Mitchell County Courthouse is located in Colorado City, Texas. Architects and Builders: Martin, Byrns & Johnston of Colorado City. This courthouse is copied from the 1883 Bastrop County courthouse, designed by J. W....
Midland County Courthouse (Midland)
Year Built: 1974 Architect: Dixon & Staley The Midland County Courthouse is located in Midland, Texas.The Wichita Falls architectural firm of (Herbert) Voelcher & (Jesse) Dixon designed the 1930 Midland County courthouse. The building combined Modern elements...
Matagorda County Courthouse (Bay City)
Year Built: 1965 Architect: Rusty, Martin & Vale The Matagorda County Courthouse is located in Bay City, Texas. Eugene T. Heiner was the architect for this building in the Second Empire style. Subsequently, the drawings for the courthouse were purchased by...
Martin County Courthouse (Stanton)
Year Built: 1975 Architect: Riherd & Huckabee The Martin County Courthouse is located in Stanton, Texas. The Martin County Courthouse was built in 1975 in a Modern style as designed by Riherd & Huckabee. The inaugural county capitol was erected in 1886 for...
Madison County Courthouse (Madisonville)
Year Built: 1970 Architect: Dickson, Dickson, Buckley & Bullock The Madison County Courthouse is located in Madisonville, Texas. Completed in 1970, the Madison County Courthouse was designed by Dickson, Dickson, Buckley & Bullock in a Modern style and...
Lynn County Courthouse (Tahoka)
Year Built: 1916 Architect: W. R. Rice The Lynn County Courthouse is located in Tahoka, Texas. In 1876 the Texas legislature created Lynn county, which organized in 1903 with Tahoka as county seat. A two-story frame structure on this site served as courthouse until...
Lubbock County Courthouse (Lubbock)
Year Built: 1950 Architect: Haynes & Kirby The Lubbock County Courthouse is located in Lubbock, Texas. The Lubbock County Courthouse was built in 1950 in a Moderne style as designed by Haynes & Kirby, and expanded in 1968. Lubbock County was created in 1876...
Rains County Courthouse (Emory)
Year Built: 1908 Architect: Andrew J. Bryan The Rains County Courthouse is located in Emory, Texas. The community of Emory was once called Springville, part of Wood County. In 1870, the Texas Legislature created Rains County from portions of four other counties. Named...
Polk County Courthouse (Livingston)
Year Built: 1924 Architect: McLelland and Fink The Polk County Courthouse is located in Livingston, Texas. "1854, plans were underway for a two-story brick courthouse. It was 40 feet square with a wide hallway and four offices on the ground floor and one large open...