Lubbock County CourthouseCounty Seat: LubbockCounty Population: 251,018

The Lubbock County Courthouse was built in 1950 in a Moderne style as designed by Haynes & Kirby, and expanded in 1968.
Lubbock County was created in 1876 and organized in 1891. Historian June Rayfield Welch, author of “The Texas Courthouse Revisited,” writes: “Rollie Burns persuaded every male near legal age to sign a petition for organization. Falling short of the necessary 150 signatures, he added the names of the IOA Ranch horses.”
The county was named for Thomas S. Lubbock, an organizer of Terry’s Texas Rangers. The location of the county seat was settled when rival entrepreneurs chose to cooperate rather than compete.
The county’s first public building, a jail, played host to all county functions and regular sessions of school until cells were installed. Commissioners convened in the sheriff’s home until the inaugural courthouse, a $12,000, two-story, frame courthouse, was completed in 1891.
A brick county capitol was erected in 1915 for approximately $100,000. Finally, the current temple of justice was constructed in 1950; the west half was built for $1.25 million, while the east half, added in 1968, was priced at $900,000.
Located on the Southern High Plains, Lubbock is the state’s 11th largest city and is the epicenter of a 26-county region. The county seat is the hometown of rock ‘n roll legend Buddy Holly, singer/actor Mac Davis, and Glenna Goodacre, who designed the Sacagawea dollar.
Lubbock is known for its institutions of higher learning including Texas Tech University (TTU) and its medical counterpart, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, as well as Lubbock Christian University, Wayland Baptist University and South Plains College, all of which serve some 40,000 students every year.
The state-of-the-art United Spirit Arena (USA) is the home of TTU basketball and volleyball teams and other local, regional and national events. The USA has hosted sell-out crowds for well-known performers including Aerosmith, Cher, Elton John, The Eagles and George Strait.
Established in 1946, the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra performs a full season of classical works featuring guest artists from around the world. Each season features five pairs of classical concerts, a Holiday Pops concert, and a Spring Pops concert.
The National Ranching Heritage Center (NRHC), a museum and historical park located in Lubbock, was established to preserve the history of ranching, pioneer life, and the development of the livestock industry in North America. Forty-five authentic, furnished ranch buildings and structures have been relocated to the NRHC and show the evolution of ranch life from the late 1780s through the 1930s. H
(Texas Almanac 2006-2007)