The Jim Wells County Commissioners Court voted on Dec. 12, 1911, to propose a $70,000 courthouse bond issue that easily passed. The county courthouse cornerstone was laid on July 25, 1912, attracting some 2,500 visitors from as far away as Laredo and San Antonio. According to Bill Morgan, author of Old Friends: Great Texas Courthouses, “Trains steamed in from three directions, all met by the Alice Concert Band…In athletic contests, W.E. Wright of Banquete tied his goat in 29 seconds to win the $3.75 first prize, and the home team shut out Beeville in baseball, 4-0.”
The courthouse, designed by Atlee B. Ayers, was completed in late 1912. Commissioners Court conducted its first official meeting on March 10, 1913. The building’s Texas Renaissance style is most evident at the courthouse entrances and in the building’s unique dome. Wings were added in 1948, and annexes were later built nearby. This inaugural courthouse continues to serve the county to this day.
Jim Wells County was created from Nueces County. The county seat of Alice was named for Alice King Kleberg, daughter of Captain Richard King. A wealthy landowner, King was a client of James B. Wells, a lawyer-politician-businessman.
The county took on Wells’ name and honored him with a plaque in the courthouse that reads in part: “What good men do live after them. All else should be interred with their bones. So let it be with Jim.”
Early on, the county was supported primarily by cattle. However, by 1920, large-scale farming included corn, cowpeas, flaxseed, sorghum, and cotton. In fact, agricultural diversification served to transform the county from a frontier into a production center. In the early 1990s, close to 85 percent of the county was made up of farms and ranches.
The discovery of oil in 1931 launched the county’s oil and natural gas production industry.
Area history is chronicled at the South Texas Museum housed in the 1940s office building of prominent ranching brothers Claude and Frank McGill.
On May 3, 2001, Gov. Rick Perry signed House Bill 1019, which designated the city of Alice as the “official birthplace” of the Tejano music tradition and the Tejano R.O.O.T.S. Hall of Fame Museum in Alice as the official state site for Tejano music.
Jim Wells County is home to Lake Findley, an excellent habitat for all game fish species. Related activities include kayaking, hiking, and birding. In fact, more than 250 different bird species have been spotted at Lake Findley, with more species being identified in the larger Jim Wells County area.
As explained on the city of Alice website, the county seat is known as the Hub City for its central location in South Texas.
“Alice can be seen as the heart of South Texas, offering a deep history, a diverse heritage, the hominess of a small town, and the adventure of a big city.” https://www.alicehubcity.com/.