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.
Kaufman County Courthouse (Kaufman)
Architect: Morey & McGill. Year Built: 1956. The Kaufman County Courthouse is located in the city of Kaufman, Texas. Both the county, established in 1848, and the city were named for David S. Kaufman, a U.S. Representative and diplomat from Texas. Previous...
Andrews County Courthouse (Andrews)
Architect: William Thomas "W.T." Strange, Jr. Year Built: 1939. The Andrews County Courthouse is located in the City of Andrews, Texas. Andrews is located in West Texas, on the border with New Mexico, approximately 110 miles southwest of Lubbock and 35 miles northwest...
Houston County Courthouse (Crockett)
Architect: Blum E. Hester. Year Built: 1939. The Houston County Courthouse is located in Crockett, Texas. On June 12, 1837, President Sam Houston authorized the formation of Houston County, the first newly created county in the Republic of Texas. Andrew W. Gossett...
Dallas County “Old Red” Courthouse (Dallas)
Architect: Orlopp & Kusener. Year Built: 1892. The historic Dallas County Courthouse is located in Dallas, Texas. It is the SIXTH courthouse to sit on the present site. All prior courthouses wholly or partially burned. The "Old Red" Courthouse currently serves...
Bexar County’s Historic Double Height Courtroom
The historic double height courtroom is located at the south end of the second and third floors of the Bexar County Courthouse. The courtroom was restored to its original 1896 condition and re-opened in January 2015. Prior to the restoration, the space was divided...
Bexar County Courthouse – Interior
This is a batch of pictures I took on one of the very rare occasions that the corridors of the Bexar County Courthouse is not brimming with people. These halls are usually abuzz with litigants, attorneys and courthouse! I took these on December 31, 2021, right before...
Reeves County Courthouse (Pecos)
Architect: Trost & Trost. Year Built: 1937. The Reeves County Courthouse is located in Pecos, Texas (not to be confused with Pecos County whose county seat is Fort Stockton). The courthouse is a textured buff brick structure whose brown color seems to blend in...
Gaines County Courthouse (Seminole)
Year Built: 1955. Architect: Styles, Robert, Gee & Messersmith. The Gaines County Courthouse is located in Seminole, Texas. Despite the name Seminole, Gaines County was formerly Comanche Indian country. Located in the High Plains of West Texas, Gaines County...
Grimes County Courthouse (Anderson)
Year Built: 1894. Architect: F.S. Glover & Co. The unique Itialianate style Grimes County Courthouse is located in historic Anderson, Texas. The current courthouse is the Fifth to serve the County, and was restored by the Texas Historic Commission and...
Glasscock County Courthouse (Garden City)
Year Built: 1909. Architect: Edward Columbus Hosford. The Glasscock County Courthouse is located in Garden City, Texas. The courthouse is located at the intersection of Texas 158 and FM 33 and is built in the Classical Revival style of stone and surrounded with...
Loving County Courthouse (Mentone)
Year Built: 1935, Architect: Evan J. Wood. The tiny Loving County courthouse is located in the unincorporated town of Mentone, Texas. Mentone is the only town in Loving County. Loving County was formed in 1931 and is the least populous county in the United States....
“Old” Irion County Courthouse (Sherwood)
Year Built: 1900. Architect: Martin and Moodie. This now-defunct courthouse is located in the tiny and sparsely-populated "town" of Sherwood, Texas in Irion County. In order to get to Sherwood by car you must cross the bridge over Spring Creek. The cost of building a...
Hood County Courthouse (Granbury)
Architect: W.C. Dodson. Year Built: 1890. The Hood County Courthouse is located in he charming city of Granbury, Texas. Granbury is filled with a rich historical tradition...some of which may not be true. The Hood County Courthouse Historical Marker contains the...
Trinity County Courthouse (Groveton)
Year Built:1914. Architect: C.H. Page & Bro. The Trinity County Courthouse is located in Groveton, Texas. The Trinity County and Sabine Pass Land and Railway Company laid out the new town of Groveton in 1881, when the I&GN Railroad came through the area. The...
VIDEO — HALFWAY THERE!!!!
In October 2021 we surpassed the halfway point on the Texas Courthouse Tour! We have now visited and photographed more than 130 of 254 counties! Visiting these beautiful structures and experiencing the communities in which they are located has been a blast! Watch...
Leon County Courthouse (Centerville)
Year Built: 1886. Architect: William Johnson or George E. Dickey (no consensus). The Leon County Courthouse is located in Centerville, Texas. Some credit its design to architect William Johnson. Others claim that George Edwin Dickey was the architect. The Courthouse...
Bosque County Courthouse (Meridian)
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...
Colorado County Courthouse (Columbus)
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...
“Old” Fort Bend County Courthouse (Richmond)
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...
Morris County Courthouse (Daingerfield)
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...
Austin County Courthouse (Bellville)
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...
Wharton County Courthouse (Wharton)
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...
Waller County Courthouse (Hempstead)
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...
Milam County Courthouse (Cameron)
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...
Pecos County Courthouse (Fort Stockton)
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...
Sutton County Courthouse (Sonora)
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....
Hudspeth County Courthouse (Sierra Blanca)
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...
Crockett County Courthouse (Ozona)
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,...
Limestone County Courthouse (Groesbeck)
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....
Duval County Courthouse (San Diego)
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...