Refugio County Courthouses

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. You're rolling through Refugio County, and the ground beneath you has been carrying the weight of government for a long, long time. Let me set the scene.

The county and the city of Refugio both take their name from a Spanish mission, Mission De Nuestra Señora Del Refugio, the Mission of Our Lady of Refuge, established right here in 1795. That mission building, built for faith, ended up pulling double duty as the county courthouse at various times from 1837 to 1848. Now that is a building with range.

When you need a courthouse, you use what you've got. Around 1850, the county finally set about building something permanent, right here on the town's central plaza, a plaza that had already been dedicated for municipal buildings back when Refugio was a Mexican pueblo, between 1821 and 1836. So the ground had a purpose before the building ever rose on it.

That first permanent courthouse went up one story, made from shell concrete and cypress lumber. Modest, functional, very Texas. But Refugio was growing, and in the late 1850s that one-story building got pushed up to two stories.

Then came a new courthouse in the mid-1870s. And here's where the story takes a hard turn. That building burned in 1879.

Gone. So they built again, and by 1880 a new structure stood in its place. Four courthouses down, and the county wasn't finished yet.

The fifth Refugio County courthouse is the one worth slowing down for. Designed by San Antonio architect Atlee B. Ayres, built by local contractor W.H.

Borglud, and completed right here at this site in December 1917. That one had some staying power. Then in the 1920s, the ground itself got into the story.

Oil and natural gas were discovered in significant quantities throughout Refugio County, and the industries that followed brought people and business activity pouring into the county. By the 1950s, the courthouse had to grow again, this time with the addition of north and south wings. Five courthouses, a mission pressed into service, a fire, a boom, and a building that kept on expanding.

And today, the Refugio County courthouse still stands in its traditional role as the county's governmental and judicial center. Some things, it turns out, are worth rebuilding every single time.

What the marker says

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