Val Verde County Courthouse Square

The courthouse's designers came from Austin. Jacob Larmour had already drawn Main Hall at Texas A&M in 1871, the Main building at Baylor University in 1886 and the French Second Empire courthouse of Travis County. Arthur O. Watson, born near Brenham in 1864 and schooled at Texas A&M, became Larmour's partner in 1887, the year this courthouse was built. Their Milam County courthouse later lost its tower and iron cornice. Working alone from 1892, Watson designed the red sandstone DeWitt County courthouse in Cuero and Austin's First Congregational Church, a hall under an iron-trussed roof.

What the plaque says

Val Verde County Courthouse Square Organized in 1885 from sections of Crockett, Kinney, and Pecos Counties, Val Verde County was named for a Civil War battle in New Mexico which involved Texas Confederate Forces. The growing railroad town of Del Rio was chosen as the seat of Government and Commissioners set up offices in a commercial building on Perry Street, now South Main. Soon after formation of the county, the Limestone Jail was built here on a corner of the public square. During construction of the courthouse, it provided additional office space. A three-story annex to the building was completed later. The Limestone Courthouse was constructed at this site in 1887. Architects were A. O. Watson and Jacob Larmour of Austin, designers of Courthouses in Milam and Comanche Counties. Built by the contracting firm of Hood and McLeod, it features classical revival detailing and octagonal corner turrets. As the area population increased, the buildings were modified to provide for the expansion of services. A separate facility for the Sheriff's office and county prisoners was completed in 1956, and the old jail was remodeled for use by other departments. (1980)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Whitehead Memorial Museum — 0.5 mi
  A village of old Del Rio buildings set along a working irrigation canal, from an 1870 store to a 1925 doctor's office, with Judge Roy Bean buried on the grounds.
• San Felipe Creek — 0.6 mi
  The spring-fed creek that made Del Rio, rising from the third largest springs in Texas and running past swimming holes and a hike-and-bike trail through town.
• Val Verde Winery — 0.9 mi
  The family winery an Italian immigrant founded on Del Rio's irrigated land in 1883, which outlasted Prohibition by selling table grapes and kept Texas wine alive into the 1970s.
• Amistad National Recreation Area — 9.2 mi
  The American side of the reservoir the United States and Mexico finished in 1969 where three rivers meet, with painted shelters still reachable by boat when the water allows.

More markers nearby

• Camp Hudson, C.S.A. — steps away
• First United Methodist Church of Del Rio — steps away
• John Taini — steps away
• Max and Anna Stool — steps away