122 of 254 Kleberg County Courthouse, Kingsville, Texas. County Population: 32,061
Kleberg County, Texas
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"Situated on a grassy plain with elevations ranging from sea level to 150 feet, part of the county's 853 square miles lies on the mainland, while the remainder is on Padre Island. In 1846 ... the land that is now in Kleberg County was designated a part of Nueces County; it remained so for many years.
"In 1853 Richard King purchased the Santa Gertrudis grant in Kleberg County from the heirs of the original Spanish grantees and started the King Ranch. The history of Kleberg County during the next fifty years is almost indistinguishable from that of the ranch. In 1903, however, the St. Louis, Brownsville, and Mexico Railway was built through South Texas to Brownsville, and Henrietta King, owner of the King Ranch, opened for sale a large tract of her land. A surveyor employed by the ranch laid out the town of Kingsville in a pasture three miles east of the ranch headquarters. "As the population in the area increased, the citizens of Kingsville and the other communities began agitating to break away from Nueces County. In 1913 the Texas legislature responded to this pressure and organized Kleberg County, named for Robert Justus Kleberg, whose son, also named Robert Justus Kleberg, was manager of the King Ranch. "...Kingsville was designated the county seat." George O. Coalson, "KLEBERG COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Kleberg County and photographed the courthouse in Kingsville on Saturday, October 15, 2011.
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Kingsville is located on US Highway 77, about 70 miles north of Raymondville, on the north edge of the Rio Grande Valley
Kleberg County Courthouse 1914
San Antonio architect Atlee B. Ayres designed this classically composed Prarie Style building. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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Kleberg Courthouse alternative?
This rendering of the courthouse illustrates a much different version of the courthouse exterior than what was built. Image courtesy courthousehistory.com
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The Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program Round IX Grant Recipients (July 22, 2016): Kleberg County—$450,000 emergency grant award to address severe structural problems, hazardous material removal and water infiltration in the exterior walls and windows.
The front facade of the courthouse faces west, along E. Kleberg Avenue, towards the central business district
Close-up view of the west entrance
View from the west entrance of the courthouse, along E. Kleberg Ave
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The south facade of the courthouse, to the right is a 1966 addition to the building
The east facade on the 1966 addition, with what I believe is the 1914 porch, relocated to this new end of the building
View of E. Kleberg Ave from the east facade of the courthouse
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The northeast corner of the courthouse
Looking west on E. Kleberg Avenue
The Texas theater anchors this end of the business district
Roy's has it ALL
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