• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • CJCAT
    • From the President
    • From the General Counsel
    • North and East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
    • South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
    • West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
  • Conferences
    • Conference Galleries
    • Conference Close-Up
  • Texas County Directory
    • 2023 Texas County Directory Updates
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • Previous Issues
      • 2020 Previous Issues
      • 2019 Previous Issues
      • 2018 Previous Issues
      • 2017 Previous Issues
      • 2016 Previous Issues
      • 2015 Previous Issues
      • 2014 Previous Issues
Texas County Progress

Texas County Progress

The Official Publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

  • Home
    • Feature Story
    • CJCAT
  • Legislature
  • Monuments of Justice
    • Courthouse Preservation
    • Courthouse Trails
    • Why Stop In
  • Emergency Response
  • Road & Bridge
  • Jails
    • Indigent Health Care
  • County Focus
    • A Glimpse In The Life
    • Century of Service
    • Courthouse Preservation
    • Key Concept
    • Veterans

Monuments of Justice: Presidio County Courthouse

July 25, 2022 by Sarah L

County Seat: Marfa * County Population: 6,131 (2020 Census)

Marfa Texas Presidio County Courthouse

The Presidio County Courthouse, built with locally made brick, is one of the state’s best-preserved courthouses. In fact, tourists drive out of their way to view the Second Empire edifice designed by Alfred Giles. The $65,000 courthouse was officially opened on New Year’s Eve 1886 with a gala ball.

The interior and the overall exterior form and detailing remain remarkably intact. The building’s most significant alterations occurred in 1915 and 1925 with the plaster coating of the exterior porous brick. Years later, a renovation/restoration project included site repairs, ADA modifications, full roof, dome, and statue restoration, and systems updates. This courthouse project was completed in the spring of 2000.

Presidio County was formed from Bexar County on Jan. 3, 1850, and organized on March 13, 1875. The county was named for Presidio del Norte, an 18th century fort and settlement on the south side of the Rio Grande. Fort Davis served as the county seat up until 1885, when Marfa became the home of county government.

The county capital has been described as a “creative haven” attracting writers, artists, and architects who wish to develop their trades in a peaceful setting. In fact, every October, international art enthusiasts make way to Marfa to visit the home of Donald Judd, an acclaimed American artist.

Marfa lies between three mountain ranges and is known for the Marfa Mystery Lights, an enigma that fascinates onlookers nearly every night. The lights were first recorded by early settlers in 1883 and are best seen from a viewing area approximately 9 miles east of Marfa on U.S. Highway 90. The first recorded sighting of the lights was by rancher Robert Ellison in 1883. Explained as campfires, phosphorescent minerals, swamp gas, static electricity, St. Elmo’s fire, and “ghost lights,” the lights reportedly change colors, move about, and change in intensity. Scholars have reported more than 75 local folk tales dealing with the unexplained phenomenon.

In the 1950s, Marfa was the location for the filming of “Giant” starring James Dean, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rock Hudson. Memorabilia can be viewed at the Presidio County Museum and the Hotel Paisano.

The city of Presidio serves as the western gateway to the 350,000-acre Big Bend Ranch State Park and the stunning Bofecillos Mountains. The adobe trading post and private fortress of Ben Leaton, restored and interpreted by Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the new electricity storage battery station, the largest in the United States and housed in architecture designed to suggest a fort, provide a perfect window into Presidio’s past and future.

The Big Bend terrain is sought out by hikers, rock hounds, bird watchers, and shutterbugs. The area’s ecosystem supports a vast array of wildlife, including the mountain lion and pronghorn antelope. Sportsmen frequent the area to hunt deer, quail, and dove.

Filed Under: Feature Story, Monuments of Justice Tagged With: Presidio County

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to County Progress

Subscribe: Newsletter | Magazine

April 2023

April 2023
If you'd like to view our previous issues, click here.

Search County Progress

Dates of Interest for the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature

Official deadlines will be set when the House and Senate adopt their rules, but until then, the Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual provides the following general calendar: 

Bill pre-filing began:  Nov. 14, 2022 

1st day of session:  Jan. 10, 2023 

60-day bill filing deadline:  March 10, 2023  

Adjournment sine die:  May 29, 2023 

Post-session 20-day deadline for governor to sign or veto:  June 18, 2023 

Effective date (91st day after adjournment):  Aug. 28, 2023

Sample Rules of Procedure, Conduct, and Decorum at Meetings of the County Commissioners Court

Resolutions

Unfunded Mandate Resolution

The latest resolutions passed by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas and the three Regional Associations are available at the links below.

County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas Resolutions 2022

North & East Texas Resolutions 2022

South Texas Resolutions 2022

West Texas Resolutions 2022

Texas County Directory

Place your order for the updated 2023 Directory

Connect with us online.

Facebook spacer Twitter spacer LinkedIn

Footer

Search County Progress

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

County Progress

3457 Curry Lane
Abilene, TX 79606
325.673.4822
countyprogress@zacpubs.com

Categories

© 2023 · Zachry Publications