Brewster County is named for Henry Percy Brewster, who was a secretary of war for the Republic of Texas and a soldier in the American Civil War.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Jeff Davis County and Pecos County
E – Pecos County, Terrell County and Mexico
S – Mexico
W – Presidio County
Created: February 2, 1887
County Seat:
Alpine 1887 – present
County Courthouse – Alpine
Location: 201 West Avenue E / North 7th Street
Built: 1887 – 1888
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Thomas Lovell
Contractor: Thomas Lovell, J C Bird and Harry Dryden.
Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick and wood structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Alpine. The east front has a slightly projecting center section with framed entrance and pediment on the first story. Above are two windows with pediment above at the roof line. There are similar entrances on the north and south sides. The windows are arched. The roof is mansard. In the interior, the first story has a center hall on the east-west axis bisecting the offices. The large wood framed courtroom is located on the east side of the second story. On the south side of the first story is a small courtroom. The building houses the State District Court, Constitutional County Court and Justice Court. The building was restored in 2011. The architect was Page, Southerland, Page and the contractor was W G Yates & Sons Construction. On the west side is the one story red colored brick Courthouse Annex constructed in 1981 with a small Commissioners Room in the north wing and on the northwest side is the old red colored brick County Jail built in 1888. The jail was remodeled in 1997. The architect was Les Burke Architects and the contractor was Dinosaur Valley Construction and the County of Brewster.
Note: The contractors burned their own bricks for the building in kilns near Ranger canyon. J C Bird burned the lime that made the mortar that held the bricks together. The cost for construction of the courthouse and jail was $27,000.
See: The contractor, Tom ( Thomas ) Lovell of Denton, also constructed courthouses in Brazonia County, Coryell County, Denton County, Hamilton County, Hardeman County, Hill County, McLennan County and Runnels County.
History: The county was created in 1887 and Alpine was selected as the county seat. The first and present courthouse was constructed in 1887 to 1888 at a cost of $15,000.

County Courthouse – Alpine























County Courthouse Annex – Alpine



Commissioners’ Room




Old County Jail – Alpine



Photos taken 2014 and 2019