Formed January 1, 1871 (159th county)
Aransas County (23,158), Rockport (8,766)
The Modern courthouse, built in 1956, is located south of Texas State Highway 35 on Church Street. Lynn A. Evans designed this tan brick and concrete building. The facility was enlarged in 1983. The courthouse was destroyed in 2018 by a hurricane. A former retail building now serves as the courthouse. There was one previous 1890 courthouse also located in Rockport, the only county seat. The county was established on January 1, 1871. The county was formed from Refugio County as the 159th county. Aransas County was named from the Rio Nuestra Senora de Aranzazu, which originated as an estate name in Spain. Rockport was named for a ledge of rock near this port on the Gulf of Mexico.
Aransas County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. Three District Court Judges serve Aransas, Bee, Live Oak, McMullen, and San Patricio counties and Two County Court Judges serve Aransas County. The county is on the Gulf Coast just east of Corpus Christi, Texas. The county is narrow with numerous fingers from Aransas Bay that dominates the southeast side. The county center is in Rockport 3.1 miles North-Northeast of the city center. The county is surrounded clockwise by Calhoun County and the Gulf of Mexico and Nueces, San Patricio, and Refugio counties.
The area of the county is 528 square miles. It is 240 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 106 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 43.86 persons per square mile making it 78 out of 254 in the state. Aransas County has 46.8% of its population in its incorporated areas. There are no Interstates or United States Highways in the county. Although Rockport is located on the coast, it is just west of the geographical county center. Rockport is the county seat and the largest city. It is 37.9% of the county population. The county is pronounced A-RAN-SUS. This county is in the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Fulton
Rockport
Aransas Pass
Corpus Christi
