Val Verde County Courthouse Square

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm passing it straight along to you. Val Verde County. Carved out in 1885 from sections of Crockett, Kinney, and Pecos Counties.

Three big stretches of Texas real estate stitched together into something new. And the name they gave it, Val Verde, that came from a Civil War battle in New Mexico, one that involved Texas Confederate Forces. Right from the start, this county carried history in its very title.

The growing railroad town of Del Rio was chosen as the seat of government, and the Commissioners didn't wait around for a grand building. They set up offices in a commercial building on Perry Street, the road now known as South Main. Practical folks, commissioners.

You work with what you've got. Soon after the county took shape, they built a limestone jail right here on a corner of the public square. And here's a detail worth pausin on: during construction of the courthouse itself, that jail did double duty, offerin additional office space while the real work was underway.

A three-story annex was completed later, capping off the early growth of the square. Now, the centerpiece. The Limestone Courthouse was constructed at this very site in 1887.

The architects were A. O. Watson and Jacob Larmour, both out of Austin, men who had already put their names on courthouses over in Milam and Comanche Counties.

So they knew what they were doing. The contracting firm of Hood and McLeod built it, and what they left behind features classical revival detailing and octagonal corner turrets. Corner turrets.

On the Texas frontier. That's a statement. As the population of the area kept growing, the buildings were modified to keep pace, expanding services to meet the people coming in.

By 1956, a separate facility for the Sheriff's office and county prisoners was completed, and the old limestone jail, that original workhorse of the square, was remodeled for use by other departments. From a rented room on Perry Street to octagonal turrets rising over the public square, Val Verde County built itself one stone at a time.

What the marker says

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)