Kerr County Courthouse (Kerrville)
Architect: Adams & Adams.
Year Built: 1926.
The Kerr County Courthouse is presently located in Kerrville, though its location has moved around over the years. I have handled several cases in Kerr County, and find it a pleasant place to work.
An excerpt From the UNT Portal to Texas History:
The current Kerr County Courthouse is the fourth courthouse to house the
official offices of Kerr County government. Built in 1926-27 at a cost of
$110,000, the two-story building included offices for county officials with the jail
on the top floor of the building.
Voters approved issuance of the bonds to build the jail at a bond election on
December 22, 1925 with 590 residents voting in favor of the bond and 363
against. Plans and specifications for the building were approved in April 1926
and the contract to building the courthouse was awarded to general contractor
W.C. Tharilkill of San Antonio on July 1, 1926.
Local contractors were hired when possible to complete the building pro-
ject. W.B. Brown Plumbing installed the heating and plumbing at a cost of
$6,325. Roberts Electric Shop did the electrical wiring at a cost of $940.29.
Southern Steel Co. provided the jail equipment for $7,800. W.A. Fawcett Furni-
ture Co. provided the wood and metal furniture at a cost of $5,258.93. Charles
Schreiner Company furnished the door hardware and other amenities for $1,320
and the electrical fixtures were purchased and installed by Travis Electrical Com-
pany.
On March 28, 1927, the commissioners’ court accepted the completed
courthouse and jail building.
The current courthouse annex was completed in 1968. It provided parking
under the building for courthouse employees. The first floor was converted to
offices for the County Clerk and County Tax Assessor/Collector. Additional space
was converted to the Kerr County Court at Law offices after the creation of that
court in the mid-1980’s. The top or second story of the new building housed the
jail and sheriff’s department offices.
History of the Kerr County Courthouse and Honoring the County Judges of Kerr County Past and Present 1856 to 2015, pamphlet, June 2015; Kerrville, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1040084/m1/8/:accessed May 19, 2022), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Kerr County Historical Commission.
From the Kerr County Historical Marker:
Formed from Bexar County; created January 26, 1856; organized March 22, 1856. Named in honor of James Kerr, 1790-1850; the first American settler on the Guadalupe River; general manager of DeWitt’s Colony; signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence; member of the Third Texas Congress. County Seat, Kerrsville (afterwards Kerrville), 1856-1860; Comfort, 1860-1862, Kerrville since. (1936)
Note About the Architect: Carleton Adams and his uncle Carl C. Adams were the principals of Adams & Adams. Carleton designed the Spanish Colonial Revival-style Thomas Jefferson High School campus, and did work on the Alamo Cenotaph in San Antonio and the Hall of State in Dallas, both in 1936. In the 1940s, Adams served as the campus architect for Texas A&M University in College Station. See my pictures below.
Hall of State at Fair Park in Dallas is a beautiful Art Deco Building with deep Texas roots:
I love photographing the Alamo Cenotaph.
