Concho County is named for the Concho River which was named for the discovery of freshwater mussels which produced pearl and the Spanish for “concho” is “shell”.
Created: February 1, 1858
County Seat:
Paint Rock 1879 – present
County Courthouse – Paint Rock
Location: 152 North Roberts Avenue / Moss Street
Built: 1883 – 1886
Style: Second Empire
Architect: Frederick Ernest Ruffini and Oscar Ruffini
Contractor: Kane and Cormack of Lampasas
Description: The building faces south and is a two story course stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the city. The south front has a center section at the entrance which rises to a red colored mansard roof. The building has narrow vertical arched windows. There are east and west wings extending from the building.
Note: The plans for the current courthouse had been drawn by Frederick E Ruffini before his death in 1885. His brother, Oscar, oversaw the completion of the building in 1886. The plans were used for several other Texas county courthouses, most of which have been demolished with the exception of the old courthouse in Blanco County, and the courthouse in Sutton County.
Note: According to the Texas Historical Commission Atlas: plans originated with W W Larmour of San Antonio, but were used without permission by the contractor J H Walker for the courthouse in Tom Green County, where the supervising architect for the courthouse was Oscar Ruffini who sent a copy of the plans and a photo of the courthouse to his brother Frederick Ernst Ruffini of Austin, who in turn modified them for the courthouse in Blanco County and for contractor Captain James B Smith who then used the Ruffini design for the courthouse in Callahan County and the courthouse in Concho County. Oscar Ruffini then reused the F E Ruffini plans for the courthouses in Mills County and Sutton County.”
Note: The first courthouse was a wood structure built in 1849 at a cost of $500. The second courthouse was built in 1879 and the third and present courthouse was constructed in 1883 at a cost of about $28,000.
Courthouses:
N – Runnels County
E – Coleman County and McCulloch County
S – Menard County
W – Tom Green County
County Courthouse
Photos taken 2006 and 2014