036 of 254: Hays County Courthouse, San Marcos, Texas. County Population: 222,827
"Hays County occupies an area of 693.5 square miles in south central Texas. The county is located on the border between the Edwards Plateau and the southern Black Prairie region. The Balcones Escarpment divides it into hilly, tree-covered ranch country in the northwest three-quarters and grassy, agricultural plains in the southeast quarter. The elevation rises from east to west, varying from 600 to over 1,400 feet. The county's numerous streams generally flow in an easterly direction; the principal waterways are Bear, Cypress, and Onion creeks and the Blanco and San Marcos rivers. The Edwards Aquifer underlies the eastern area, where San Marcos Springs, the second largest in Texas, delivers over 102 million gallons daily.
"March 1, 1848, the state legislature formed Hays County from territory formerly part of Travis County. William W. Moon, Eli T. Merriman, and Mike Sessom, original settlers and members of John Coffee Hays's company of Texas Rangers, worked with Gen. Edward Burleson, a member of the Texas Senate, to have the new county named for Hays. County organization and the designation of San Marcos as county seat gave impetus to settlement; the population grew from 387 in 1850 to 2,126 in 1860. The county shrank slightly on February 12, 1858, when it lost acreage to the new Blanco County and gained a portion of Comal County. On January 10, 1862, the legislature again transferred another small area to Blanco County. Boundaries remained stable for nearly a century, until resurvey of the Hays-Travis county line in 1955 added over 16,000 acres to Hays County.
Paul F. Cecil and Daniel P. Greene, "HAYS COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online
"March 1, 1848, the state legislature formed Hays County from territory formerly part of Travis County. William W. Moon, Eli T. Merriman, and Mike Sessom, original settlers and members of John Coffee Hays's company of Texas Rangers, worked with Gen. Edward Burleson, a member of the Texas Senate, to have the new county named for Hays. County organization and the designation of San Marcos as county seat gave impetus to settlement; the population grew from 387 in 1850 to 2,126 in 1860. The county shrank slightly on February 12, 1858, when it lost acreage to the new Blanco County and gained a portion of Comal County. On January 10, 1862, the legislature again transferred another small area to Blanco County. Boundaries remained stable for nearly a century, until resurvey of the Hays-Travis county line in 1955 added over 16,000 acres to Hays County.
Paul F. Cecil and Daniel P. Greene, "HAYS COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online
Hays County Courthouse 1909Photograph of postcard, courtesy of THC.
A dominant landmark in San Marcos, Texas, the fourth Hays County Courthouse, built in 1909, reflects early settlement here, when the public square was the nucleus of the 19th century town and the center of its social, commercial, and governmental life. Designed by C.H. Page and Brothers of Austin, this impressive Classical Revival structure in the Corinthian order is arranged in a symmetrical cruciform plan and exhibits fine workmanship, especially in the Greek details of the monumental entrances and design of the interior.
From the National Register listing of the Hays County Courthouse I visited Hays County and photographed the courthouse in San Marcos on March 26, 2010, September 3, 2011 and December 27, 2011. |
The Hays County courthouse is a virtual duplicate of the Fort Bend County courthouse, with the exception of the clock tower. It was decided by the Commissioners' Court that the weight of the clocks would damage the roof and the clocks were never installed in the tower. Both buildings were designed by the Austin architect Charles H. Page.