August 4, 2013 -- the last day I'd visited and photographed a new Texas county. Finally, after 8 long months I was back on the courthouse trail. I began my two day trip in San Antonio. The weather was overcast and cool as I drove west from the Alamo City on US Highway 90. Today, Saturday, April 26, I would visit the last two county seats on US 90: Brackettville, in Kinney County and Del Rio, in Val Verde County.
US 90 enters Texas on the east at Orange County and continues west across the Lone Star State for exactly 607.861 miles according to TXDOT. This important east-west highway parallels the Southern Pacific Railway's "Sunset Line" connecting New Orleans with Los Angeles. I had previously visited Orange, Beaumont, Liberty, Houston (my home), Columbus, Seguin, San Antonio, Hondo, Uvalde, Sanderson, Alpine, Marfa and Van Horn, where Highway 90 ends, sort of in the middle of nowhere. Each of these 13 cities and towns are county seats located on US 90. Now it was time for me to see the last two.
But first, a stop in Uvalde, number 20 on my list. I'd been here early on in my project, on August 27, 2009. It was now time to take additional photographs of the Uvalde County courthouse and its surroundings.
US 90 enters Texas on the east at Orange County and continues west across the Lone Star State for exactly 607.861 miles according to TXDOT. This important east-west highway parallels the Southern Pacific Railway's "Sunset Line" connecting New Orleans with Los Angeles. I had previously visited Orange, Beaumont, Liberty, Houston (my home), Columbus, Seguin, San Antonio, Hondo, Uvalde, Sanderson, Alpine, Marfa and Van Horn, where Highway 90 ends, sort of in the middle of nowhere. Each of these 13 cities and towns are county seats located on US 90. Now it was time for me to see the last two.
But first, a stop in Uvalde, number 20 on my list. I'd been here early on in my project, on August 27, 2009. It was now time to take additional photographs of the Uvalde County courthouse and its surroundings.
The courthouse occupies a block across from a city park. On the north side of the park is the historic Uvalde Grand Opera House (left) and the Kincaid Hotel (right).
The Uvalde County courthouse faces west and slightly south on Getty Street
Since it was Saturday, the courthouse was closed. However, as luck would have it, the county clerk, Ms. Ramona Esquivel Hobbs, and her husband arrived just as I was preparing to leave. They graciously invited me in for a quick tour of the courthouse. It was a wonderful opportunity, and I didn't hesitate to accept their invitation. Ms. Hobbs has been searching the county's historic document files and organizing this treasure trove of Texas history. I was able to photograph some sample documents, including a letter from 1900, written on elaborate Uvalde County letterhead.
As I left, Ms. Hobbs suggested I stop by the county's new event center and arena, located on the west side of town, on the south side of Highway 90. Here's a photograph of the buildings. The event center is on the right.
Leaving Uvalde, I drove west on US 90 and soon entered Kinney County. Brackettville, a small town in the center of the county is the seat. The historic courthouse, located on a rise in the center of town, while in good shape, is in need of a restoration.
As I walked around town, I began to notice an unusual number of German sports cars parked on the streets. Most of them were Porsches; some very nice cars! Apparently, a sports car club had stopped here for lunch during a Saturday outing. Too bad I'd left my Audi TT Roadster at home in Houston! Otherwise, I would have joined them.
The sun was finally beginning to burn through the low clouds as I left Brackettville and headed down US 90 for Del Rio. The Val Verde County line is on Sycamore Creek, which, like so many in Texas these days in a dry riverbed.
Del Rio, Texas is a busy city, located on the Rio Grande River. This is the last major town on the Rio Grande until you reach El Paso, hundreds of miles to the west. There's a large US Air Force pilot training installation, Laughlin AFB, on the east side of town. To the west, on US 90 is vast Lake Amistad on the Rio Grande. The historic Val Verde County courthouse has been restored. There's an adjacent courthouse annex on the square and the county has converted the former Federal Building into a court building.
Having now visited all 15 county seats on US Highway 90, I turned south and east and drove and followed the Rio Grande to Eagle Pass, seat of Maverick County. Below is a photograph of pecan orchards along the highway.
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