014 of 254 Lavaca County Courthouse, Hallettsville, Texas. County Population: 19,263
Lavaca County, Texas
"Lavaca County consists of 971 square miles of flat to undulating terrain, with elevations ranging from 150 to 350 feet. The county is bounded on the north by Fayette County, on the east by Colorado and Jackson counties, on the south by Victoria County, and on the west by DeWitt and Gonzales counties.
"The earliest documented exploration of the region ... was led by the Frenchman René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who in 1685 landed on the coast and reportedly named the Lavaca River Les Veches ("the cattle") because of the number of buffalo he saw grazing on its banks. The name was retained by the Spanish, who translated it La Baca.
"In 1842 the Republic of Texas Congress established a judicial county from portions of Fayette, Colorado, Jackson, Victoria, and Gonzales counties and named it La Baca County. In 1846 the area was renamed Lavaca County. Petersburg and Hallettsville vied to be county seat, and after two hotly contested elections Hallettsville won the contest in 1852; only by force of arms, however, were the men of Hallettsville able to liberate the county records from Petersburg."
Handbook of Texas Online, Christopher Long, "Lavaca County"
"One of the first settlers in the area was John Hallett, who received a land grant from Stephen F. Austin in 1831. After Hallett's death in 1836 his wife, Margaret L. Hallett, donated land for the townsite."
I visited Lavaca County and photographed the courthouse in Hallettsville on June 9, 2009, September 24, 2011, and October 5, 2017.
"The earliest documented exploration of the region ... was led by the Frenchman René Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, who in 1685 landed on the coast and reportedly named the Lavaca River Les Veches ("the cattle") because of the number of buffalo he saw grazing on its banks. The name was retained by the Spanish, who translated it La Baca.
"In 1842 the Republic of Texas Congress established a judicial county from portions of Fayette, Colorado, Jackson, Victoria, and Gonzales counties and named it La Baca County. In 1846 the area was renamed Lavaca County. Petersburg and Hallettsville vied to be county seat, and after two hotly contested elections Hallettsville won the contest in 1852; only by force of arms, however, were the men of Hallettsville able to liberate the county records from Petersburg."
Handbook of Texas Online, Christopher Long, "Lavaca County"
"One of the first settlers in the area was John Hallett, who received a land grant from Stephen F. Austin in 1831. After Hallett's death in 1836 his wife, Margaret L. Hallett, donated land for the townsite."
I visited Lavaca County and photographed the courthouse in Hallettsville on June 9, 2009, September 24, 2011, and October 5, 2017.
Lavaca County is home to the Spoetzl Brewery in Shiner. Cheers!
Northwest Lavaca County, west of Moulton on Road 532
The courthouse tower watches over pickup trucks, deer blinds, and feeders.
The majestic courthouse tower rises from a sea of gables and towers.
Lavaca County Courthouse 1897
"This building is a masterpiece of Romanesque Revival design by notable Texas architect, Eugene Heiner of Houston." THC website
"... strongly influenced by the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The raised three-story building is of limestone, cruciform in plan, with a hip roof and heavy towers with pyramidal roofs and dormers flanking the side arms."
-From the National Register Listing
This was the last courthouse designed by Heiner, who died in Houston in 1901 at age 48.
The Lavaca County Courthouse was restored and rededicated on September 11, 2010.
"... strongly influenced by the Allegheny County Courthouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The raised three-story building is of limestone, cruciform in plan, with a hip roof and heavy towers with pyramidal roofs and dormers flanking the side arms."
-From the National Register Listing
This was the last courthouse designed by Heiner, who died in Houston in 1901 at age 48.
The Lavaca County Courthouse was restored and rededicated on September 11, 2010.
Photo, circa 1939, courtesy of TXDOT
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The majestic building dominates the town square.
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A ranch house in northern Lavaca County.