Wilson County Courthouse

Wilson County was created in 1860 out of Bexar and Karnes Counties. At this time a store in Sutherland Springs was rented as the temporary location for the Wilson County Courthouse. The Courthouse was not settled in Floresville until 1873, when Floresville was established as the center of County government. Since then, the courthouse has been located in Floresville.

In 1883, the original wood frame Courthouse building was destroyed by fire. Installed in the old courthouse was a fireproof safe that cost $750.00. When the old courthouse took fire, practically all the documents were saved. When fire took the courthouse in 1883 they decided to build a new one that is the present courthouse that you see today. The present courthouse was built in 1884.

The first change to the Courthouse building was a concrete vault which was built on the southeast side of the courthouse. This addition was the start of many additions and modifications to the original building. During the 1920s the county attorney's office was added to the courthouse. In 1923 the County Clerk's records vault including a small basement area was added to the southeast corner. From 1860 to 1991, at least 30 changes took place.

Some of the major Courthouse construction changes are listed below:

2/22/1884, Courthouse cornerstone was laid.
2/1/1885, Courthouse completed for the total cost of $31,005.20
1886, Six chimney shafts were rebuilt among other repairs to the roof being made due to storm damage
1923, Record vault with basement was constructed.
1980, HVAC installation and window AC unit removed

I got most of this information from: Joseph M. Fazio " The Wilson County Courthouse; Historical And Architectural Development" Floresville Chronicle-Journal Dec. 1999: 23