Maverick County Courthouse

Maverick County Courthouse, a landmark of the Texas-Mexico border area, was built in 1884-85 during the term of county Judge Thomas Lamb on a site chosen by a citizens' committee that donated $800 toward the purchase of land from R.E. Moffit. Designed by Wahrenberger and Beckman of San Antonio and built by local contractor William Hausser, the courthouse and a jail were erected at a total cost of $20,489. The site became known for the celebrated 1889 Dick Duncan murder trial, in which Duncan, accused of killing four members of a San Saba family he was escorting to Mexico, was convicted on evidence gathered by Sheriff W.N. Cooke and Texas Rangers Ira Aten and John R. Hughes and was sentenced to death by district Judge Winchester Kelso. After appeals to state and federal courts brought national notoriety, Duncan was hanged in the county jail on September 18, 1891, the only capital execution ever carried out by Maverick County. The early jail was replaced in 1949. A fine example of Victorian design, the courthouse has crenellation suggesting a fortress, great architectural significance as a border structure, and a clock tower that still holds its original E. Howard works and bell.

Eagle Pass, Texas · United States