Formed January 22, 1858 (140th county)
Menard County (1,964), Menard (1,347)
The Modern courthouse in Menard was built in 1931 and sits on Tipton Street two blocks east of United States Highway 83 at San Saba Street. Withers & Thompson designed this tan brick courthouse. The building was restored in 2006. The county was organized on January 22, 1858 and all three courthouses (1880, 1886, and 1931) have been located in the City of Menard. Menard County was cut from Bexar County as the 140th county. Both the county and county seat are named for Michel B. Menard. He was the founder of Galveston, signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence and member of the Texas Legislature.
Menard County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. One District Court Judge serves Menard, Kimble, McCulloch, and Mason counties and One County Court Judge serves Menard County. The county is located in the Hill Country northwest of San Antonio, Texas and west of Austin, Texas. The county center is 2.8 miles East-Southeast of Menard. The county is surrounded clockwise by Concho, McCulloch, Mason, Kimble, Sutton, Schleicher, and Tom Green counties.
The area of the county is 902 square miles. It is 144 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 233 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 2.2 persons per square mile making it 226 out of 254 in the state. Menard County has 68.6% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 83 crosses north to south, Concho County to Kimble County. United States Highway 190 comes from the northeast, McCulloch County, and goes to the west, Schleicher County. United States Highway 377 cuts the southeast corner from Mason County to Kimble County. The county is a flat rectangle with the northeast corner missing. The San Saba River crosses west to east. Menard is near the center of the county. Menard is the county seat and, as the only incorporated city, it is the largest city. It is 68.6% of the county population. Both county and county seat are pronounced ME-NARD.
Menard
