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The Texas Legislature created Live Oak County in 1852 and the first county seat was in Oakville. A native stone and lumber building constructed on the public square and modified through the years served as the county courthouse for more than sixty years. With the arrival of railroads in the 1910s, the county’s population was growing. Noted cattleman George Washington West (1885-1926), who owned a sprawling 200,000-acre ranch, laid out the town of George West in 1912-13 and lobbied for the county seat to relocate to his new settlement. In 1919, the county seat moved and Mr. West immediately deeded an entire block for construction of a courthouse.
The 1920 Live Oak County Courthouse was designed by well-known San Antonio architect Alfred Giles (1853-1920), a friend of Mr. West and the architect of his 1880s ranch house. Giles designed more than a dozen county courthouses and numerous homes, schools and commercial buildings around Texas and Mexico. Sadly, he died before the Live Oak County Courthouse was complete. The classical revival courthouse is a symmetrical three-story dark brick and cast stone building. Porticos are supported by large unfluted Corinthian columns with detailed capitals and are accentuated in white along with the architrave and cornice. The structure was advertised as fireproof with reinforced concrete.
In addition to governmental and legal proceedings, the Live Oak County Courthouse and grounds have been the location of community events ranging from political rallies and weddings to Christmas events and county celebrations. For more than a century, the courthouse has served the people of Live Oak County while embodying historical and architectural distinction. Recorded Texas Historic Landmark - 2020 |
