San Patricio

Formed January 8, 1836 (14^th county)

San Patricio County (68,754), Sinton (5,505), Portland (20,386)

The tan brick Texas Renaissance courthouse in Sinton was built in 1928.  It is on the square at the intersection of Sinton Street and Archer Avenue.  Sinton Street is United States Highway Business 77 as it comes through the city.  The building’s designer was Henry T. Phelps.  The building was enlarged in 1996.  The county was organized on January 8, 1836 with San Patricio as the county seat.  Four courthouses (1837, 1853, 1872 and 1886) were in San Patricio and the last two (1893 and 1928) have been in Sinton.  The county is one of the original 23 in Texas (14^th county.)  The county was named for San Patricio de Hibernia, Spanish for “Saint Patrick of Hibernia,” an Irish colony.  Sinton got its name from David Sinton a local landowner. 

San Patricio County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  Three District Court Judge serves San Patricio, Aransas, Bee, Live Oak, and McMullen counties and Two County Court Judges serve San Patricio County.  The county is in far south-central Texas just north of Corpus Christi, Texas.  The Aransas River forms the majority of the northern border.  The Nueces River and Corpus Christi Bay are the western and southern borders of the county.  The county center is 4.2 miles South-Southeast of Sinton.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Refugio, Aransas, Nueces, Jim Wells, Live Oak, and Bee counties. 

The area of the county is 692 square miles.  It is 219 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 52 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 99.4 persons per square mile making it 47 out of 254 in the state.  San Patricio County has 81.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 37 enters from Live Oak County on the northwest and exits into Nueces County on the south.  United States Highway 77 crosses northeast, Refugio County, to southwest, Nueces County.  United States Highway 181 goes from Bee County, northwest, to Nueces County, southeast.  The county is shaped like a funnel that bends to the east in the south.  Sinton is located the northwest quadrant of the county.  Portland is on the southeast border of the county and extends into Nueces County.  Sinton is the county seat and Portland is the largest city.  Sinton is 8.0% of the county population while Portland is 29.7% of the county population.  The county is pronounced SAN PA-TREE-CEE-O.  This county is in the Corpus Christi Metropolitan Statistical Area.

San Patricio