Refugio County Courthouses

Between courthouses the town nearly vanished. Its council stopped meeting in 1861, and from 1868 Moses Simpson, newly arrived from Copano, acted as the whole council by himself. Saloons and gambling houses gave Refugio a 'free and easy' name, and in 1869 the county seat moved to St. Mary's and then to Rockport, coming back only when Aransas County was split off in 1871. In 1905 the town paid the railroad $18,000 and half its common lands for a line. Oil found in 1928 more than doubled its people by 1930.

What the plaque says

Refugio County Courthouses The county and city of Refugio are named after the Spanish Mission De Nuestra Señora Del Refugio (the Mission of our Lady of Refuge) established here in 1795. The Spanish mission building served as Refugio County's courthouse at various times from 1837 to 1848. Construction of a permanent county courthouse began about 1850 here on the town's central plaza, dedicated for municipal buildings when Refugio was a Mexican pueblo (1821-1836). The one-story courthouse, made from shell concrete and cypress lumber, was enlarged to a two-story structure in the late 1850s. A new courthouse, built in the mid-1870s, burned in 1879 and was replaced with a new structure in the late 1850s. A new courthouse, built in the mid-1870s, burned in 1879 and was replaced with a new structure in 1880. The fifth Refugio County courthouse, designed by San Antonio architect Atlee B. Ayres and built by local contractor W.H. Borglud, was completed at this site in December 1917. In the 1920s oil and natural gas were discovered in significant quantities throughout Refugio County. The burgeoning oil and gas industries led to an increase in population and business activity in the county, and in the 1950s the county courthouse was expanded with the addition of north and south wings. Refugio County courthouse continues its traditional role as the county's governmental and judical center. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845-1995

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Sally Scull — steps away
• Empresario James Power — steps away
• Refugio County — steps away
• Irish Immigrants in Refugio — steps away