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Aransas County TX
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Texas | Texas Architecture | Texas Courthouses

Aransas County Courthouse

County Seat - Rockport, Texas
Aransas County

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

COURTHOUSE UPDATE:
"Demolition of the 1956 Aransas County courthouse began on February 22, 2018 and was completed in March." -
Terry Jeanson, July 2018.

The Aransas County courthouse was severely damaged by hurricane Harvey when it came ashore at Rockport on August 25, 2017 with estimated winds at 140mph. As a result, the courthouse has been condemned. - Terry Jeanson, October 4, 2017.
Aransas County courthouse damaged by hurricane Harvey.
This photo shows intersecting tower on the courthouse with many missing granite panels.

Photo courtesy Tim Jeanson, December 2017
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
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 appeared 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
TE Postcard archives

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