Taylor County is named for Edward Taylor, George Taylor and James Taylor, three brothers who died at the Battle of Alamo.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Jones County
E – Callahan County
S – Coleman County and Runnels County
W – Nolan County
Created: February 1, 1858 
County Seat:
Buffalo Gap 1878 – 1883
Abilene 1883 – present
County Courthouse – Abilene
Location: 300 Oak Street / South 3rd Street
Built: 1970 – 1972
Style: Modern
Architect: Tittle, Luther, Loving & Lee
Contractor: Rose & Sons Inc.
Description: The building faces north and is a five story pink colored granite and concrete Modern style structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Abilene. The building has a narrow pillars rising to the fourth story and forming an overhang with the interior glass walls being recessed. The fifth story is faced with pink colored granite and has few windows. The roof line is flat. The County District Court courtrooms are located on the fourth story and The County Court at Large courtroom is located on the fifth story. The building houses the State District Court, Constitutional County Court and County Courts at Large.
Old County Courthouse – Abilene
Location: 301 Oak Street / South 4th Street
Built: 1914 – 1915
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: George L Burnett
Contractor: A Z Roger
Description: The building faces west and is a third story brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Abilene on the east side of the courthouse. The building has a raised basement and the entrance is located at the center of the first story. The first story is dark red colored brick and upper stories are white colored brick with red colored brick trim. The roof line id flat. The interior has a grand staircase. The building houses the County Justice of the Peace with courtroom in the basement.
See: National; Register of Historic Places – Old Taylor County Courthouse
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History: The county was created in 1858 and Buffalo Gap was selected as the county seat in 1978 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was designed by Marti, Byrnes & Johnston and built in Buffalo Gap in 1880. The courthouse has been torn down but the old County Jail remains. The county seat was moved to Abilene in 1883. The second courthouse was designed by Jasper N Preston & Son of Austin and built in 1883 in Abilene. During the construction of the third courthouse, the county occupied the Grace Hotel built in 1909 and located at 102 Cypress Street and North 1st Street. The third courthouse was constructed in 1913 to 1915 at a cost of $117,900 and is still standing. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1970 to 1972.
County Courthouse – Abilene
Old County Courthouse – Abilene
Buffalo Gap – site of old County Courthouse
Old County Jail – Buffalo Gap
Photos taken 2006 and 2014