Gonzales County Courthouse
Bounded by St. Louis, St. Paul. St. Lawrence, and St. Joseph Sts., Gonzales, TXGonzales served as the capital of Empresario Green DeWitt s colony from 1825 to 1836. Since 1837, it has been the county seat of Gonzales County. A proud self-image is reflected in the architecture of its courthouse. The style reflects the taste which prevailed in the late nineteenth century; it speaks of an era during which newly wealthy cattlemen trailed their herds north, and built some of the most opulent homes in Gonzales.
Prior to the age of the opulent mansions in Gonzales, the courthouse had been "practically the community center,... the site of all religious services before the various churches were built, and... the scene of social gatherings." In addition, the courthouse was much in use for its formal purpose, the enforcement of the law. The famous and violent local vendettas such as the Sutton-Taylor feud, the Littlefield- Martin feud, and the gun-notching escapades of John Wesley Hardin were more or less settled by the time the courthouse was built in 1896. However, the atmosphere was still violent. In 1899, "a leading doctor seriously cut with a pocket knife a man who accosted him with a barrage of ugly names... and a multiple shooting on a downtown street involved several prominent families."
The first Gonzales courthouse burned on December 3, 1893, and the construction of a second building began in 1894. building of the new courthouse provoked cries of political scandal. Debt-ridden farmers had been seeking a political voice for many years, and in the 1890s they rallied to the Populist ticket. Indeed, the general election of 1892 disclosed that a three-party system prevailed in Gonzales. Out-voted Democrats claimed that the Populist county officials had pocketed some of the money appropriated for the new courthouse, had kicked back some of the appropriations to Populist friends, and had awarded the contract on political considerations rather than on the basis of the best bids.
Whatever the truth may have been, the contract was let on June 26, 1894, to Otto P. Kroeger of San Antonio. The structure cost $64,450; it was completed on April 8, 1896. The brick from the building is said to have been freighted from St. Louis; the rock came from a quarry at Maurin, a few miles from Gonzales.
The building was extensively repaired in 1958. Improvements included a new roof and waterproofing. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark 1966.
Listed in National Register of Historic Places in 1972.
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.