121 of 254:  San Patricio County Courthouse, Sinton, Texas.  County Population:  66,969

San Patricio County, Texas

"In 1828 empresarios John McMullen and James McGloin contracted with the government of Mexico to settle 200 Irish Catholic families on eighty leagues of land in the area.
"... the colonists proceeded to the north side of the Nueces River and established the town of San Patricio de Hibernia , named after the patron saint of Ireland. In 1834 the colony was legally established as the Municipality of San Patricio in the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas.
"San Patricio County was established in 1836 by the Congress of the new Republic of Texas. Far larger than the current county, the original San
Patricio County included territory later incorporated into other counties.
"In 1845 Corpus Christi was designated the county's seat of government and remained so until 1846, when San Patricio County lost all of its territory south of the Nueces River to the newly established Nueces County. That year the town of San Patricio became San Patricio County's seat. In 1848 more new counties were formed, and the county was further reduced in size.
"In 1893 ...  the Sinton Town Company was formed to develop the
site [near the center of the county]. The new town, called Sinton, became the county seat later that year."
Keith Guthrie, "SAN PATRICIO COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online 

I visited San Patricio County and photographed the courthouse in Sinton on Saturday, October 15, 2011. 

San Patricio County Courthouse 1893

Architect James Riely Gordon designed this Romanesque styled court-house in 1893.  Alas, it was demolished around 1927 to make way for a new, larger courthouse.

San Patricio County Courthouse 1928

Architect Henry T. Phelps of San Antonio designed this modern "classical" courthouse.  A significant addtion was constructed on the back of the building in 1996, designed by the Corpus Christi  firm McGloin & Sween, in association with James Rome, FAIA.  And, yes, that's a World War I Doughboy statue on the front lawn.