County Seat: Giddings * County Population: 16,612 (2010 Census)
The Lee County Courthouse was designed by J. Riely Gordon in 1898 and built by Sonnefield, Emmins and Abright of San Antonio. The three-story, red brick courthouse is located on the crest of the high divide that separates the Colorado and Brazos river basins.
In emphasizing the building’s role as the focal point of the community, Gordon combined a variety of structural masses to give the courthouse a sense of weight and stability. The large stone arches, typical of the Romanesque Revival style, are present in the gallery arcades, entrance doors, dormers, and the clock tower, as explained on the National Register narrative.
The Lee County Courthouse is a Texas State Antiquities Landmark and a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Created from Bastrop, Burleson, Fayette, and Washington counties, Lee County was organized in 1874. Giddings and Lexington were the leading rivals for the selection of a county seat. Lexington, an older town surrounded by excellent farmland, confidently laid out a courthouse square. But Giddings was a railroad town and was proud of its high location astride the divide between the Brazos and Colorado rivers watersheds. In the heated and bitterly contested election, Giddings was selected as the county seat. The first Lee County Courthouse was completed four years later in 1878 but was destroyed by fire in 1897.
Through the years the current courthouse has retained the majority of its historical integrity, but the structure was eventually threatened by basement flooding resulting in spalling concrete and water infiltrating through rotted windows. Restoration work added below-grade water proofing, repaired exterior masonry, restored windows, and replaced mechanical and electrical systems. Decorative painting in the district courtroom was recreated and reflects the community’s Wendish roots.
The Lee County Courthouse was rededicated on Oct. 8, 2004. In 2014, the county was awarded a $450,000 Round VIII Texas Historical Commission preservation emergency grant for above-grade repairs to masonry, doors, windows, and interior finishes affected by structural movement. Foundation stabilization work was later completed using a Round VI, $804,233 emergency grant awarded in 2010.
Lee County offers the benefits of traditional, small-town living while simultaneously providing easy access to the state’s population centers. The county is a central location on major transportation routes between Houston, Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, and San Antonio.
The community plays host to a variety of special events throughout the year including the Lee County Junior Livestock Show in March, the Lexington Homecoming the first full weekend in May, the Fireman’s Fourth of July Picnic, the Dime Box Homecoming & Mini Marathon in October, and the annual Lee County Go-Texan Scholarship Fun Day every fall. Wendish Fest on the last Saturday in September takes place in the historic community of Serbin.
The Lee County Fair & Rodeo the third weekend in May features the Texas State Noodle Cookoff. In fact, House Resolution No. 12 passed by the 74th Legislature designated this event as “the official noodle cook-off” of the Lone Star State.