First County Courthouse

Duane's take

The way the marker in Castroville tells it, here's what Duane's got for you. Back in 1848, Castroville was the seat of Medina County. The whole county looked to this little town on the edge of the Hill Country, and for six years the County Court made do with temporary office space.

Six years of cramped, makeshift quarters. Then, in 1854, somebody finally said enough is enough. Joseph Burger got the job, and what he built was not something you'd tear down in a hurry.

Eighteen-inch-thick walls of native limestone. Let that settle in for a moment. Eighteen inches.

That is a wall that is not asking for your opinion. Burger set that courthouse right on the old road to San Antonio, which means travelers rolling toward the city would have seen it standing there like a statement. Castroville had arrived.

Over the years, additions came along, one-story wings on both sides, and an outside staircase climbing up to the second floor, so the building grew around its solid limestone core the way a town grows around its courthouse square. Now, Castroville held that county seat title from 1848 all the way through 1892. Then Hondo became the county seat, and that changed everything for this old building.

A courthouse without a county to govern is a building looking for a new purpose. It found one. It became a school.

And after the school days were done, it found another purpose still, housing City Hall. Joseph Burger's limestone walls, all eighteen inches of them, have outlasted every chapter written around them. That's the kind of construction that doesn't need a tall tale told about it.

It tells its own.

What the marker says

Erected 1854; first permanent courthouse in Castroville, the first seat (1848-1892) of Medina County. When built, structure was on old road to San Antonio. This building took place of temporary office space which County Court had used 6 years. It was built by Joseph Burger and has 18-inch-thick walls of native limestone. Additions to original building include one-story wings on both sides and outside staircase to the second floor. After Hondo became County Seat this building was used as a school; now houses City Hall. 1968