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 Karnes County Courthouse Posted by:  QuesterMark
N 28° 53.118 W 097° 54.081
14R E 607129 N 3195774
This post-mounted subject marker stands to the right of the entrance to the courthouse in Karnes City. It faces N. Panna Maria Ave. This marker, dated 2010, replaced a 1994 marker.
Waymark Code: WM16EHA
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/14/2022
Views: 3
Marker erected by the Texas Historical Commission.
Texas Historical Commission Atlas data (from the 1994 marker)
Index Entry Karnes County Courthouse
Address 101 N. Panna Maria
City Karnes City
County Karnes
UTM Zone 14
UTM Easting 607190
UTM Northing 3195728
Subject Codes courthouses; design and construction
Marker Year 1994
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark No
Private Property No
Marker Location Courthouse Square, intersection of US 181 and FM 99, Karnes City
Marker Condition In Situ
Marker Size 27" x 42"
1994 Marker Text:
In 1854 Karnes County erected its first courthouse in the county seat of Helena, an important stage stop between San Antonio and Goliad. The original courthouse was destroyed in a storm about 1865 and a new stone courthouse was built in Helena in 1873. In the mid-1880s the citizens of Helena refused to grant right-of-way and cash concessions sought by the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad to route its proposed rail line through the town. As a result, the railroad bypassed Helena as it built a line through Karnes County in 1886-87. By 1893 the railroad town of Karnes City, established here in 1891, had surpassed Helena in population and political clout. Karnes City was chosen the new county seat on December 21, 1893. Karnes County officials let bids for a new courthouse and jail on January 4, 1894. They received bids from prominent Texas courthouse designers Alfred Giles and J. Riely Gordon, but awarded the contract to design and build a new county courthouse at this site to John Cormack. Cormack died before finishing the structure and his business associate J. A. Austin completed the job. The courthouse was dedicated on October 25, 1894, and completed on May 29, 1895. Its original turrets and clock tower were removed during 1920s remodeling.
Marker Number: 2902 Replacement
Marker Text:
In 1854 Karnes County erected its first courthouse in the county seat of Helena, an important stage stop between San Antonio and Goliad. The original courthouse was destroyed in a storm about 1865 and a new stone courthouse was built in Helena in 1873.
In the 1880s the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad was planning a route from San Antonio to the coast. The citizens of Helena did not donate land or raise enough cash for the railroad. At this time, W.G. Butler donated land west of Helena through what is now Karnes City. As a result, the railroad bypassed Helena as it built a line through Karnes County in 1886-87. By 1893 the railroad town of Karnes City, established here in 1891, had surpassed Helena in population and political clout. Karnes City was chosen as the new county seat on December 21, 1893.
Karnes County officials let bids for a new courthouse and jail on January 4, 1894. They received bids from prominent Texas courthouse designers, Alfred Giles and J. Riely Gordon, but awarded the courthouse contract to John Cormack, who also built courthouses in Concho, Somervell and Uvalde counties. Cormack died before finishing the structure and his business associate J.A. Austin completed the job. The courthouse was dedicated on October 25, 1894, and completed on May 29,1895. The three-story brick courthouse with rusticated stone trim featured Second Empire and Richardsonian Romanesque elements with projected mansard towers, cylindrical corner towers and a central clock tower. Alterations beginning in the 1920s resulted in two additions on the west side, removal of the original clock tower and the conical roofs of the corner turrets, stucco applied over the brick and blocking off the south entrance. Construction beginning in 2011 and completed in 2018 restored the courthouse to its original (1894) appearance.
Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2010
Marker is Property of the State of Texas
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Visit Instructions:
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