Formed January 8, 1836 (4th county)
Colorado County (20,874), Columbus (3,655)
The unique domed Renaissance Revival courthouse of Colorado County is located on United States Highway 90 at Texas State Highway 52 (Milam Street). It was built in 1891 from a design by Eugene T. Heiner. The building was rebuilt in 1909, remodeled in 1939, and restored in 2014. An Administrative Building was added in 2011. Four courthouses have served the county since its founding on January 8, 1836 (1837, 1847, 1855, and 1891;) all of these have been in Columbus. The county is one of the original 23 counties of Texas (4th county.) Colorado County is named for the Colorado River that crosses the county from northwest to southeast. Colorado is Spanish for “red colored.” Colorado City in Mitchell County also gets its name from the river. Columbus was named by an early settler for Columbus, Ohio which, of course, was named for Christopher Columbus.
Colorado County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. Two District Court Judges serve Colorado, Gonzales, Guadalupe, and Lavaca counties and One County Court Judge serves Colorado County. The county is situated in south central Texas west of Houston, Texas. Its east border is the San Bernard River. The county center is 9.6 miles South of Columbus nearer Altair. The county is surrounded clockwise by Austin, Fort Bend, Wharton, Jackson, Lavaca, and Fayette counties.
The area of the county is 974 square miles. It is 90 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 114 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 21.43 persons per square mile making it 125 out of 254 in the state. Colorado County has 45.3% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 10 crosses from Austin County to Fayette County, east to west. United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10. United States Highway Alternate 90 goes from Wharton County, east, into Lavaca County, west. The county is the standard 45-degree skewed rectangle in this area. Columbus is slightly north of the county center. Columbus is the county seat and the largest city. It is 17.5% of the county population.
Columbus
Eagle Lake
Weimar
