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.
Cottle County Courthouse (Paducah)
Year Built: 1930 Architect: Voelcker and Dixon The Cottle County Courthouse is located in Paducah, TexasThe Texas Legislature created Cottle County in 1876 and named it for George Washington Cottle, who died defending the Alamo forty years earlier. Stage routes...
Dallam County Courthouse (Dalhart)
Year Built: 1922 Architect: Smith and Townes The Dallam County Courthouse is located in Dalhart, Texas. Created in 1876 and organized in 1891, Dallam County was named for Republic of Texas Attorney James W. Dallam (1818-1847). Texline, located on the line of the Fort...
Deaf Smith County Courthouse (Hereford)
Year Built: 1910 Architect: Chamberlin & Co. The Deaf Smith County Courthouse is located in Hereford, Texas. Brick with marble veneer and interior. Second marble courthouse built in U.S. Cost was $125,000. After hotly-contested bond issue election, Judge John...
Delta County Courthouse (Cooper)
Year Built: 1940 Architect: Hoke Smith The Delta County Courthouse is located in Cooper, Texas. The cornerstone of the 1899 Delta County courthouse is all that remains of this ornate building that stood in the central town square of Cooper, the county seat....
Hall County Courthouse (Memphis)
Year Built: 1923 Architect: Page Brothers, et al The Hall County Courthouse is located in Memphis, Texas. Hall County was named for Republic of Texas secretary of war Warren D. C. Hall. The city of Memphis is the county seat. Trains did not stop in Memphis so some...
Armstrong Count Courthouse (Claude)
Year Built: 1912 Architect: Elmer George Withers The Armstrong County Courthouse was built in Claude, Texas. In 1887, Claude became a town and it was named after Claude Ayers at his suggestion. Claude was the engineer of the first train of the Fort Worth and Denver...
Donley County Courthouse (Clarendon)
Year Built: 1890 Architect: Bulger and Rapp The Donley County Courthouse is located in Clarendon, Texas. Clarendon is also the county seat of Donley County. Donley County was named for Stockton P. Donley, a pioneer lawyer, who fought in the Civil War. He was elected...
Bailey County Courthouse (Muleshoe)
Year Built: 1925 Architect: M. C. Butler The Bailey County Courthouse was built in Muleshoe, Texas. In 1876, the Texas Legislature established Bailey County from portions of Bexar County. It is named after Peter James Bailey, a Kentucky lawyer and defender of the...
Bowie County Courthouse (New Boston)
Year Built: 1985 Architect: Thomas and Embeton Associates, Texarkana The Bowie County Courthouse was built in New Boston, Texas, though its legal county seat is Boston, Texas. Boston was named for storekeeper in the early settlement, W.J. Boston. Texarkana, a city in...
Briscoe County Courthouse (Silverton)
Year Built: 1922 Architect: Smith & Townes The Briscoe County Courthouse was built in Silverton, Texas. The county is named after Andrew Briscoe (November 25, 1810 – October 4, 1849). Briscoe was a soldier and a revolutionary. Briscoe was an organizer of the Texas...
Brazos County Courthouse (Bryan)
Year Built: 1955 Architect: Caudill, Rowlett & Scott The Brazos County Courthouse was built in Bryan, Texas. Bryan is the county seat of Brazos County. The Brazos River, the County’s namesake, forms its western border. Humans have inhabited Brazos County for over...
Baylor County Courthouse (Seymour)
Year Built: 1968 Architect: Pierce, Norris & Pace The Baylor County Courthouse was built in Seymour, Texas. The county is named after Henry W. Baylor, a surgeon in the Texas Rangers during the Mexican–American War. Seymour was called Oregon City by the settlers...
Archer County Courthouse (Archer City)
Year Built: 1891 Architect: A. N. Dawson The Archer County Courthouse was built in Archer City, Texas, its county seat. In 1858 the Texas legislature named the city for Branch Tanner Archer, a commissioner for the Republic of Texas, who served as Commissioner to the...
Brown County Courthouse (Brownwood)
Year Built: 1917 Architect: Henry T. Phelps The Brown County Courthouse was built in Brownwood, Texas. The county, formed in 1856, came from Comanche and Travis counties and organized in 1858. Brownwood is the county seat. Like many counties in Texas, Brown was named...
Burleson County Courthouse (Caldwell)
Year Built: 1927 Architect: J. M. Glover The Burleson County Courthouse was built in Caldwell, Texas, it's county seat. Historical 14275 Maker Text: During World War II, out of a population of 18,000, close to 1300 men and women of Burleson County joined the military,...
Hardin County Courthouse (Kountze)
Year Built: 1959 Architect: Dickson, Dickson & Associatesr The Hardin County Courthouse is located in Kountze, Texas. Hardin County is in the East Texas Timberlands region known as the Big Thicket of Southeast Texas. Bears and cougars are occasionally seen in the...
Chambers County Courthouse (Anahuac)
Year Built: 1936 Architect: Cornell G. Curtis The Chambers County Courthouse is located in Anahuac, Texas. Chambers County formed from Jefferson and Liberty counties in February 12, 1858 and organized August 2, 1858.The county was named after General Thomas Jefferson...
Tyler County Courthouse (Woodville)
Year Built: 1891 Architect: T. S. Hodges The Tyler County Courthouse is located in Woodville, Texas. After the creation of Tyler County in 1846 and the subsequent selection of Woodville as county seat, this block was set aside for use as the courthouse square and the...
Bell County Courthouse (Belton)
Year Built: 1884 Architect: Jasper N. Preston and Sons The Bell County Courthouse was built in Belton, Texas Historical Marker 990: Break in mountain chain from Lampasas River to Nolan Creek. Route to one of oldest Indian trails in Southwest, and escape point for...
Callahan County Courthouse (Baird)
Year Built: 1928 Architect: Voelcker and Dixon, Inc. The Callahan County Courthouse is located in Baird, Texas, its county seat. The County is named for James Hughes Callahan, an American soldier in the Texas Revolution, survivor of the Goliad Massacre, and leader of...
Eastland County Courthouse (Eastland)
Year Built: 1928 Architect: Lang and Witchell The Eastland County Courthouse is located in Eastland, Texas, which is also the county seat. The county was named for Capt. William Mosby Eastland, a hero at the battle of San Jacinto, member of the Mier Expedition, and a...
Borden County Courthouse (Gail)
Year Built: 1939 Architect: David S. Castle Co. The Borden County Courthouse was built in Gail, Texas In 1876 Borden County was broken off from Bosque County. The county was named after Gail Borden Jr, who was known for creating condensed milk. In 1837, Borden was a...
Haskell County Courthouse (Haskell)
Year Built: 1892/1906 Architect: Larmour & Watson, Austin & Butler Co. The Haskell County Courthouse is located in Haskell, Texas.
Starr County Courthouse (Rio Grande City)
Year Built: 1939 Architect: Stanley Bliss The Starr County Courthouse is located in Rio Grande City, Texas. The first courthouse was build in 1854 and is still standing. The second courthouse was a two story structure designed and constructed by SW Brooks and built in...
Dickens County Courthouse (Dickens)
Year Built: 1893 Architect: E. L. Aiken The Dickens County Courthouse is located in Dickens, Texas "Dickens County, in Northwest Texas, is bordered on the north by Motley County, on the west by Crosby County, on the south by Kent County, and on the east by King...
Harrison County Courthouse (Marshall)
Year Built: 1900 Architect: J. Reply Gordon The Harrison County Courthouse is located in Marshall, Texas. J. Riely Gordon designed his first Neo-Classical Beaux Arts-style Texas courthouse in 1899. Two years later, the Harrison County Courthouse was constructed of...
Gregg County Courthouse (Longview)
Year Built: 1932 Architect: Voelcker and Dixon The Gregg County Courthouse is located in Longview, Texas. Gregg County was formed in 1873 and Longview was chosen as county seat. The first temporary courthouse was a small building at the corner of Fredonia and Tyler...
Garza County Courthouse (Post)
Year Built: 1923 Architect: C. A. Carlander The Garza County Courthouse is located in Post, Texas.After Garza County's creation in 1876, it was not until 1907, at the initiative of cereal producer C. W. Post, that the county was formally organized. In 1922, when the...
Fisher County Courthouse (Roby)
Year Built: 1972 Architect: Lovett and Sellar and Associates The Fisher County Courthouse is located in Roby, Texas. "Fisher County covers 897 square miles of grassy, rolling prairies. The elevation ranges from 1,800 to 2,400 feet. The northern third of the county is...
Falls County Courthouse (Marlin)
Year Built: 1939 Architect: Arthur E. Thomas The Falls County Courthouse is located in Marlin, Texas.The Texas legislature created Falls County in 1850. The first courthouse was a log cabin, possibly located on this site. In 1855 the county seat (then Adams) was...