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    Texas | Architecture | Courthouses

    Aransas County Courthouse
    County Seat - Rockport, Texas

    Aransas County has had two courthouses: 1889 and 1956

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    Rockport Texas - 1956 Aransas County Courthouse
    The 1956 Aransas County courthouse
    Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, April 2005

    The Current Aransas County Courthouse

    Date - 1956
    Architect - Lynn A. Evans
    Style - Modern
    Material - Brick & steel
    Addition - 1983

    Aransas County

    Historical Marker Text:
    Created out of the coastal portion of Refugio County in 1871, Aransas County is the second smallest county in Texas. Within its boundaries are three bays of the Gulf of Mexico: Copano, St. Charles, and Aransas. The area was the site of early Indian inhabitation and Spanish exploration, as well as Anglo colonization efforts of the 1830s and 1840s. Aransas County communities are supported by such industries as fishing, agriculture, off-shore oil production, bird watching, and tourism. The county is home to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, created in 1937.
    (1990)
    Rockport Texas - 1956 Aransas County Courthouse
    "Another view of the Aransas County courthouse with the 1980s addition on the right."
    Photo courtesy Terry Jeanson, April 2005
    Rockport Texas - 1956 Aransas County Courthouse cornerstone
    "The closest thing this courthouse has to a cornerstone, this is printed on the tall, black granite block in the middle of the building." - Terry Jeanson
    The 1889 Aransas County Courthouse, razed
    Rockport Texas - AransasCounty Courthouse and Jail
    "This photo of the old Aransas County courthouse and jail is displayed in the foyer. Like the courthouse, the two-story, 1890 brick jail was designed by architect J. Riely Gordon. It was used until 1955." - Terry Jeanson
    The 1889 Aransas County Courthouse
    Designed by J. Riley Gordon whose other courthouses include the Counties of Bexar, Comal, Ellis, Erath, Fayette, Gonzales, Hopkins, Lee, Victoria and Wise.

    Rockport had been the seat of Refugio County until the creation of Aransas County in 1871.

    This ornate Moorish design enjoyed popularity for a time. Architects, particularly those from the eastern U.S., somehow associated palm trees and severe humidity with north Africa and southern Spain.

    Most of Gordon's designs took climate into consideration, providing ventilation through placement of doors with a central tower.

    Razed in the mid-1960s.
    Former Aransas County courthouse Rockport Texas vintage photo
    The 1889 Aransas County Courthouse as it appered in 1939
    Photo courtesy TXDoT
    Aransas County courthouse Oil painting, Rockport Texas
    "An oil painting of the 1889 Aransas County courthouse displayed in the lobby of the current courthouse." Terry Jeanson
    Former Aransas County courthouse old post card
    The most picturesque courthouse of Aransas County was the Moorish design by J. Riely Gordon, finished in 1889, razed mid-1960s
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