DUANE
Duane's take
Well, I'm drawing this one straight from the official marker — here's how I tell it. Picture Willacy County, brand new, formed in 1911, and the powers that be do what any self-respecting Texas county does first thing: they hire themselves an architect. A San Antonio man by the name of Henry T.
Phelps gets the commission, and he puts up a courthouse in Sarita. Elegant, they say. And it was.
There was just one problem — Sarita was so remote, so far off the beaten path, that half the county couldn't get to it on a good day. An elegant courthouse nobody can reach is a little like a campfire nobody can find. Warm idea, poor execution.
So the 37th Legislature, meeting in 1921, did what legislatures do when geography wins an argument — they redrew the lines. A new Willacy County, present-day shape, with Raymondville as the county seat. Now here's where it gets good.
The early county meetings had to be held somewhere while they figured things out, so they set up shop in the Raymondville State Bank Building. And the jail? Well, they borrowed a jail cage from the King Ranch.
The King Ranch. If you're going to borrow something in Texas, might as well borrow from the biggest operation in the state. They made do.
And when it came time to design the real, permanent courthouse and jail, the commissioners looked around and said — you know what, let's call Phelps again. Same man who built the first one. Henry T.
Phelps, back for a second act, and this time Raymondville was ready for him. His design was traditional, cross-axial — a plan that crossed itself like an X, three floors and a basement, with entrances on all four sides so no matter which direction you rode in from, the courthouse met you at the door. The first floor sat up high, reached by monumental exterior stairs, and that's where the county courtroom lived, along with the offices of the county judge and other officials.
The second floor held the district courtroom, and all the rooms that keep justice moving — jury, grand jury, consultation, witness rooms. And the third floor? That's where they put the jail, with a cell room and sleeping quarters for the juries.
Juries and prisoners, stacked up under the same roof. Justice was literally above everything else. The Walker Construction Company finished the whole thing in 1923.
The exterior is understated — brick, trimmed with cast stone ornament, nothing that shouts, everything that endures. And endure it did. That courthouse became the beating heart of Raymondville — festivals, meetings, community events, county business, and more than a few high-profile cases walked through those four doors over the years.
In 2017, it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Henry T. Phelps built the first Willacy County Courthouse in a place too hard to reach, and then he came back and built the one that lasted.
Not a bad second chapter for any man's legacy.
What the marker says
Several years after Willacy County formed in 1911, a courthouse was built by San Antonio Architect Henry T. Phelps in Sarita. Despite the elegant new courthouse, Sarita remained a remote, inaccessible location to many Willacy County residents. In 1921, the 37th Legislature created the present-day Willacy County with Raymondville designated as the county seat. Early county meetings were held in the Raymondville State Bank Building, arranging for the use of a jail cage borrowed from the King Ranch. That year, the commissioners entered into an agreement with Henry T. Phelps, designer of the first Willacy County Courthouse in Sarita, for the design of the new courthouse and jail. Phelps’ design for the new courthouse had a traditional, cross-axial plan with three floors and a basement. Entrances were provided on the four sides of the building at the ends of the crossed corridors. The first floor, accessed by monumental exterior stairs, contained the county courtroom and offices of the county judge and other officials. The second floor housed the district courtroom, jury, grand jury, consultation and witness rooms, as well as other offices. The jail was on the third floor and contained a cell room and sleeping quarters for the juries. The historic courthouse exterior is understated with brick trimmed with cast stone ornament. Completed in 1923 by the Walker Construction Company, the courthouse became the focus of civic activities and pride among residents, hosting festivals, meetings, and community events in addition to county business and numerous high-profile cases. The courthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2017. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2016