Bexar County Courthouse
historic courthouse in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
The Bexar County Courthouse is a historic building in downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States.
The building was designed by architect James Riely Gordon, and borders Main Plaza, along with such other architectural landmarks as the Cathedral of San Fernando. The style is Romanesque Revival, and the main material used is red sandstone. Ground was broken for Gordon's structure on August 4, 1891, and the cornerstone was laid December 17, 1892. After several delays, construction was fully completed in 1896. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
The Courthouse currently functions as the county seat of Bexar County.
In the years of 1870-1910, almost every town in Texas had built a courthouse. The Bexar County Courthouse is the largest and oldest courthouse that is still operating in Texas.
Architect
James Riely Gordon was the architect of the courthouse.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Bexar County Courthouse” as historic courthouse in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as historic courthouse in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4899771. Authority coordinates are 29.424, -98.494. 2 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1891, 1892, 1896 and 1977.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Bexar County Courthouse”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Bexar County Courthouse primary sources, Bexar County Courthouse archive and Bexar research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bexar County Courthouse”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Bexar County Courthouse” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.