Year Built: 1886. Architect: J.J. Kane. The Bosque County Courthouse is located in the City of Meridian, Texas. See the very informative narrative from its National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form HERE. The 1886 Bosque County Courthouse, designed by Fort Worth architect J.J. Kane, is one of the oldest Texas courthouse structures in continuous…
Year Built: 1891. Architect: Eugene Heiner. The Colorado County Courthouse is located in the city of Columbus, Texas. Colorado County is one of the original counties of the Republic of Texas, was formed in 1836 and organized in 1837. The first district court was held by Robert M. Williamson in April 1837 at Columbus, the…
Year Built: 1909 with additions in 1935 and 1957. Architect: Charles “C.H.” Page. The “Old” Fort Bend County Courthouse is located in the City of Richmond, Texas. Richmond County is part of the greater Houston area, and located southwest of the City of Houston. Fort Bend County and Richmond are tremendously important to Texas history and…
Year Built: 1973. Architect: Pierce, Pace & Associates The Morris County Courthouse is located in the small northeast Texas city of Daingerfield. Morris County is one county removed from the state’s northern boundary with Oklahoma and one county removed from the state’s eastern boundary with Arkansas/Louisiana. Until 2016, Morris County was dry, meaning that the…
Year Built: 1960. Architect: Wyatt Hedrick. The Austin County Courthouse is located in Bellville, Texas. This small structure is constructed in the center of a traffic circle in the middle of historic downtown Bellville. This moderne style courthouse replaced the gorgeous 1888 courthouse designed by Eugene T. Heiner. The prior courthouse, which is almost universally…
Architect: 1889. Year Built: Eugene Thomas Heiner. The Wharton County Courthouse is located in Wharton, Texas. It is built in the Second Empire architectural style. The courthouse was restored and rededicated in 2007. The Texas Historic Commission characterizes the restoration project in Wharton County as “one of the most dramatic restorations undertaken” in its courthouse…
STATUTE OF FRAUDS – GENERAL RULE REQUIRES REAL ESTATE CONTRACTS TO BE WRITTEN AND SIGNED The general rule in Texas is that contracts for the sale of real estate must be in writing and signed by the parties in order to be enforceable. This notion, commonly known as the “Statute of Frauds,” is embodied in TEX….
Architect: Herbert Voelcker. Year Built: 1955. The Waller County Courthouse is located in Hempstead, Texas. It is a somewhat plain structure, but I found its clean lines and contrasting colors to be somewhat attractive. Maybe this is because I was fortunate enough to visit at the golden hour on an early fall day. The current…
Architect: A.O. Watson. Year Built: 1890-1892. The Milam County Courthouse is located in Cameron, Texas. It is designed in the Renaissance Revival style with matching facades, respectively, omni the east/west facing sides and the north/south facing sides. Architect A.O. Watson also designed two of my favorite courthouses: De Witt County and Llano County. The clock…
Architect: L.B. Westerman. Year Built: 1883 (major renovations in 1911-1912). The Pecos County Courthouse is located in Fort Stockton, Texas. The existing Courthouse is the only one constructed in Pecos County, but it has been substantially renovated from its original design. With an area of 4,776 square miles, Pecos County is the 2nd largest county…
Architect: Oscar Ruffini. Year Built: 1891. The Sutton County Courthouse in Sonora, Texas is a prime example of the Second Empire style. Oscar Ruffini designed numerous Texas courthouses, including the courthouses in Mills County, Crockett County and Sterling County. He also almost all of the earliest churches in San Angelo, in addition to a 36 buildings…
Architect: Bradford Hardie. Year Built: 1919. The Hudspeth County Courthouse is located in the remote West Texas town of Sierra Blanca. Hudspeth is one of the least populous counties in Texas, and none of its communities have a population of more than 2,000. This small courthouse is unique in that it is the only remaining…
Architect: Oscar Ruffini. Year Built: 1902. The Crockett County Courthouse is located in Ozona, Texas. The county was founded in 1875 and later organized in 1891. Crockett County is named in honor of Davy Crockett, as is Crockett County Tennessee. Davy Crockett was, of course, a legendary frontiersman, soldier, Tennessee state legislator and U.S. congressman,…
Architect: Rockwell Hezekiah (“R.H.”) Stuckey of Midwest Engineering. Year Built: 1924. The Limestone County Courthouse is located in the Central Texas town of Groesbeck. At the time of our visit during the summer of 2021, the courthouse was undergoing restoration. However, it is a beautiful and monumental structure. I was surprised by how impressive it…
Architect: Sanquinet Staats and Gotlieb. Year Built: 1916. The Duval County Courthouse is located in San Diego, Texas. Duval County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1858, but was attached to Nueces County until 1876 when a group of citizens petitioned for an organizational election. San Diego and Duval County are dry, dusty and…
Architect: Cornell G. Curtis. Year Built: 1941. The Cherokee County Courthouse is located in the East Texas town of Rusk.The Courthouse was completed as part of a Federal Works Agency construction project administered by the Works Project Administration (a federal New Deal Agency). The city of Rusk, Texas is not to be confused with Rusk County, which…
Architect: Elmer George Withers. Year Built: 1913. The Marion County Courthouse is located in the quaint East Texas town of Jefferson. It is almost identical to the Roberts County Courthouse, as both were designed by Architect Elmer G. Withers. Withers also designed the following Texas Courthouses: Jones Armstrong Menard Ector Upshur Archer County (1925 remodel)…
Architect: Elmer G. Withers. Year Built: 1932. The Menard County Courthouse is located in Menard, Texas. It is constructed in the Art Deco style and serves as the prototype for Withers-designed courthouses in Ector County and Upshur County. The Courthouse was restored by the Texas Historical Commission and rededicated in 2006. An excellent bio of…
Architect: W R Kaufman. Year Built: 1919. The Freestone County Courthouse is located in Fairfield, Texas. The 1919 courthouse is the Fourth structure to serve the County. Freestone County was created in 1850 from part of Limestone County and organized in 1851. Freestone County derives its name from indigenous stone found here. Freestone County is…
Architect: Charles Ames and Stewart Moore. Year Built: 1859. The Cass County Courthouse is located in the tiny northeast Texas town of Linden. The Courthouse was designed by the then-County Judge, Charles Ames. It has remained in operation since 1861, making it the only existing Antebellum courthouse in Texas and therefore making it the oldest courthouse in…
Judgment Determining Catholic Archdiocese Was Unjustly Enriched by Improvements to its 978.6 acre Ranch Vitiated by Fourth Court of Appeals. In a July 2021 opinion, the Fourth Court of Appeals saved the Diocese of Corpus Christi from a $458,426.14 jury verdict. In deciding to reverse and render a Take Nothing Judgment, the Court nullified the…
Architect: Morgan Spear Associates, Inc. Year Built: 2005. The Zapata County Courthouse is located in the border town of Zapata, Texas. The town is not an incorporated city, but a census-designated place. The current courthouse replaced a 1953 courthouse. The 1901 courthouse now sits at the bottom of the Falcon Reservoir. Zapata County is named for local rancher Antonio…
Architect: Jasper N. Preston and F.E. Ruffini. Year Built: 1883. The Bastrop County Courthouse is located in the City of Bastrop, Texas. The Courthouse was constructed in the Renaissance Revival style. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 20, 1975. The infamous “hanging hook” remains on the landing between the first and second…
Architect: J. Riely Gordon. Date Built: 1898. The Lee County Courthouse is located in Giddings, Texas. It is designed in the “Richardsonian Romanesque” style. I find it remarkably similar to Gordon’s courthouse in Comal County. From the Courthouse marker: Designed by J. R. Gordon along lines similar to New York State Capitol and several buildings…
Architect: Page Brothers: CH Page and Louis Charles Page. Year Built:1914. The Anderson County Courthouse is located in Palestine, Texas. The current Courthouse is the fourth structure to serve as the seat of Anderson County government. The courthouse uses a Beaux-Arts bi-axial arrangement with a rotunda crowned by an inner art glass dome with an outer…
Architect: Alfred Giles. Year Built: 1919. The Live Oak County Courthouse is located in George West, Texas. Live Oak County was created by the Texas Legislature on Feb. 2, 1856, and organized August 4 with Oakville as county seat. The County was formed from San Patricio and Nueces Counties and named for its Live Oak…
Architect: Philip Zoeller (original); Charles Buckel (expansion); Alfred Giles (addition & facade). Year Built: 1870; 1886 second floor expansion; 1909 addition and facade. The Kendall County Courthouse is located in Boerne, Texas. This was once a sleepy German community a short drive from San Antonio. However, Boerne has now been “discovered” and has grown significantly,…
Architect: Harvey L. Page. Year Built: 1914. The “old” 1914 Nueces County Courthouse is located in Corpus Christi, Texas. It faces the Corpus Christi Bay, which is visible from the courthouse. Designed in the Neo-Classical Style, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. This building gives me very mixed emotions….
Architect: C.H. Page & Bro. Year Built: 1909. The Hays County Courthouse is located in San Marcos, Texas. From the Hays County Historical Commission: Hays County was organized from the southwestern portion of Travis County in 1848 and named for Captain John Coffee “Jack” Hays, a legendary Texas Ranger and one of the best known…
Architect: Charles H. Page & Bro. (Louis Page). Year Built: 1910. The Williamson County Courthouse is located in Georgetown, Texas. It is the Fifth courthouse to serve the county. It is designed in the Classical Revival architectural style and features ionic columns, a copper dome with four faced clock and a beautiful patina bronze statue…
Architect: Page Brothers, Architects (also known as C. H. Page & Bro.). Year Built: 1930. The Travis County Courthouse is located in downtown Austin, just west of the Texas Capitol. From Travis County Archives: In 1930 a site for the new Courthouse was selected adjacent to the north end of Wooldridge Park, on 10th and…
Architect: W.C. Dodson. Year Built: 1897. Constructed in 1897, the Coryell County Courthouse is located in Gatesville. It was designed by Wesley Clark Dodson in the Beaux Arts style with Romanesque details, but is also referred to as “Second Empire Victorian” and “French Second Empire” design. In his design, Dodson modified the traditional cross-axial plan to…
Architect: F. Perry Johnston. Year Built: 1954. The Jackson County Courthouse is located in Edna, Texas. The courthouse is designed in the modern architectural style. It sits on an expansive lot that is surrounded by mature oak trees. There are many monuments on the grounds, including one that memorializes the death of Irwin Moore Laughter,…
On May 26, 2021, the Texas Fourth Court of Appeals issued its opinion in a case that explored the requirement that a real estate broker’s commission agreement be written and signed. The opinion was authored by Justice Irene Rios in a case entitled Stephen W. Mabery and Damon Thorpe v. MORANI RIVER RANCH HOLDINGS LP,…
Architect: Lewis Milton Wirtz Year Built: 1937. The Burnet County Courthouse is located in the city of Burnet, Texas. It is the third courthouse to serve the County, with prior courthouses constructed in 1854 and 1875. The second courthouse was built of limestone and served until 1935, when it was razed to build the current…
Architect: George Rustay and Foy Martin Year Built: 1959. The current Calhoun County Courthouse is located in Port Lavaca. It is a modern design made of concrete and aluminum, It is the 5th courthouse for Calhoun County. It was remodeled in 2005 and 2006. On April 4, 1846, Calhoun County was formed from parts of…
Suits to enforce payment of real estate commissions generally turn on the presence or absence of a signed agreement providing for the commission. PLAIN LANGUAGE OF THE TEXAS REAL ESTATE LICENSE ACT The Texas Real Estate License Act (“RELA”) statute of frauds provision in section 1101.806(c) of the Texas Occupations Code states: A person may…
Year Built: 1886 Architect: Samuel “S.W.” Brooks. The Old Hidalgo County Courthouse is located in the City of Hidalgo, Texas. This community is situated right on the Rio Grande River and is a port of entry from Mexico to the United States. Old town Hidalgo is a charming community, that now sits in the shadow…
Architect: William C. Stephenson and Fritz W. Heldenfels Year Built: 1912. The Bee County Courthouse is located in Beeville, Texas. From the Application for National Register of Historic Places: The Bee County Courthouse, the county’s fourth courthouse, became a symbol of the county’s increasing prosperity when constructed in 1912. Designed by local architect William C. Stephenson,…
Architect: H.A. Reuter Year Built: 1918. The Real County Courthouse is located in Leakey, Texas. It is designed in the Classical Revival style, and is constructed of native limestone quartered nearby. The grounds are populated with mature oak trees and a thick carpet of St. Augustine grass. The courthouse, itself, is situated facing sideways from…
