125 Aransas County

125 of 254: Aransas County Courthouse, Rockport, Texas. County Population: 23,158

Aransas County, Texas

"... the [Aransas] region was only sparsely settled on the eve of the Texas Revolution.
"After Texas independence, the area became part of the newly formed Refugio County. Around 1832 James Power founded Aransas City on Live Oak Point near the site of the Aránzazu fort. A customhouse, a post office, and several stores were established at the settlement, which by April 1840 served as the de facto seat of government for Refugio County.
"In 1840 Refugio became the county seat, and as a result Aransas City began to decline; by 1846 it had ceased to exist.
"[Following the Civil War] several new towns were founded, including Fulton in 1866 and Rockport in 1867.
"In March 1871, because the great cattle boom had established it as the most important town in the area, Rockport became county seat of Refugio County. On September 18 of the same year, the legislature voted to divide the county and designated much of the coastal area as a new county named Aransas. Rockport was made the county seat, ...
"In 1888 the San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railroad (later the Texas and New Orleans) reached Rockport, thus ensuring the town's continued importance as a shipping center."
Christopher Long, "ARANSAS COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online

I visited Aransas County and photographed the courthouse in Rockport on Sunday, October 16, 2011.