Ector County Courthouse

Ector County, created from Tom Green County in 1887 and organized in 1891, centered its public life at the county courthouse in Odessa. The first courthouse, a frame remodeled town sanitarium moved to the present square, housed the sheriff, court clerks, and Odessa school on the first floor, with the county and district courtroom upstairs. As the town's only public building, it also hosted dances, socials, and church services, while picnics and baptizings took place at the windmill and tank on the square's northwest corner. Although Odessa was usually quiet because townsite restrictions banned liquor sales, fights erupted when settlers rushed to file claims on public lands. In 1904, a two-story red stone courthouse was built just east of the earlier one, and in 1906 the Christian church was organized on its lawn. At that time Odessa had 400 people and little hope for growth because droughts hurt cattle raising, but after oil discoveries in 1926 spurred Ector County's development, a three-story cement courthouse was erected in 1938. The fourth courthouse was dedicated on April 12, 1964, by Governor John Connally.

Odessa, Texas · United States