De Witt County | US Courthouses

De Witt County is named for Green DeWitt, who founded an early colony in Texas.

Created: March 24, 1846

County Seat:

Cameron 1846 – 1850

Clinton 1850 – 1876

Cuero 1876 – present

County Courthouse – Cuero

Location: 300 North Gonzales Street / East Court House Street

Built: 1895 – 1897

Style: Romanesque Revival

Architect: A O Watson and Eugene Heiner

Contractor: M Clark & Company

Description: The building faces northwest and is a three story brown colored sandstone and pink colored granite structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of the city. The northwest front has a high central clock tower rising seven stories with arched recessed entrance on the first story, windows on the second to fourth stories and clock and steep roof at the top. The building has large square towers at each corner with steep roof. There is red colored stone trim. The roof is hipped. During construct, the superintendent was P Heleig. In 1956 to 1957, the building was remodeled. The architect was Ralph H Cameron and the contractor was Guido Brothers Construction Company. The building was restored in 2007. The architect was TWC Architects and the contractor was J T Michel, Ltd.

Note: The brown sandstone and pink granite was quarried from near Mable Falls. One of the balusters on the second floor balcony above the Gonzales Street entrance is upside down. The workers noticed it, but they thought that no one else would.

Note: Initially, the tower and the corner roofs were topped with fluted finials. At night on the lighted face of the clock on the north appeared the shadow of a full-skirted woman moving back and forth. No one knew who she was or why she was pacing. Some figured she was the ghost of a lady who had died waiting for her boyfriend to return. Her spirit then flew up to the courthouse clock. Thirty years later, one of the four lower finials fell. Officials feared someone might be killed if others fell, so all the ornaments were removed. Legend has it that the lady in the clock had something to do with it, for right after that, she was gone forever.

See: The architect, A O Watson designed other courthouses in Haskell County, Llano County, Milam County and Val Verde County.

Note: The first courthouse was built in 1847 in Cameron. The second courthouse was built in Clinton in 1852. The third courthouse was built in Clinton in 1857. The fourth courthouse was constructed in 1897 at a cost of $95,000.

Courthouses:

N – Lavaca County

E – Victoria County and Goliad County

S – Karnes County

W – Karnes County and Gonzales County