Brewster County Courthouse and Jail

Built in 1887. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

From the record

One of 14 National Register listings published here for Brewster County · listed in 1978 · category: Building · built in 1887.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 2 buildingss as contributing to the listing.
Address. Courthouse Sq., Alpine, 79830
When was it listed? July 1978
Category. building
Census division. Alpine
When was it built? 1887
National Register reference number. 78002899 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

27 since 2002

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 27 fires within 5 miles of Brewster County Courthouse and Jail between 2002 and 2012, burning about 41,647 acres in total. 4 started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	7
Smoking	5
Natural	4
Railroad operations and maintenance	3
Debris and open burning	3
Arson/incendiarism	2
Equipment and vehicle use	2
Misuse of fire by a minor	1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
11 August 2011	Natural	3.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	DEVILS BACKBONE FIRE
4 July 2006	Smoking	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	not named
29 July 2011	Natural	3.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	SEALE 2 FIRE
29 July 2011	Natural	10 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	SEALE FIRE
28 July 2006	Natural	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	not named
8 May 2002	Railroad operations and maintenance	300 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	WEST TX - 2
23 May 2006	Smoking	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	not named
12 May 2006	Railroad operations and maintenance	1.0 acres	Texas A & M Forest Service	not named

Every fire recorded in Brewster County

Mines and quarries near this property

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Brewster County Courthouse and Jail: 3 producers, 1 occurrence. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Bentonite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Alpine Bentonite Pit	Bentonite	Occurrence	Bentonite
Border Mines Bentonite Plant	Bentonite	Producer
Kimball Quarry & Plant	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Unnamed Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer	Gravel, Sand

Every working recorded in Brewster County

Storms near this property

60 of 161 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Alpine, the town this property stands in, in 161 storm reports between 1993 and 2025: 96 hail, 35 flash flood, 13 thunderstorm wind, 13 heavy rain. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
October 1995	Hail	Alpine	$3,000,000	An HP supercell moving to the southeast through northern Brewster County pummelled much of Alpine with large hail and high winds. The west and northwest sides of the city were hardest hit with windows knocked out of numerous houses, and about 200 homes having the paint blasted off the exterior walls. Many cars were damaged in the storm as well. The hail was two inches deep in some parts of town. During the storm a wind gust was measured at 56 mph. Total property damage was estimated at about $3 million.
July 2025	Flash Flood	Alpine	$50,000	Emergency Management in Alpine reported one home inundated by flooding due to heavy rainfall and numerous road closures by local authorities. The time of occurrence is estimated by radar. The total cost of damages is also estimated.
August 2004	Flash Flood	Alpine	$50,000	The Alpine Police Department barricaded city streets at several low water crossings at 14:15 CST due to flash flooding. Shortly before 1600 CST Alpine Creek began to overflow its banks, and washed away the police barricades. During the next half hour, residents were evacuated from several homes along the creek as flood waters continued to rise.
May 2010	Hail	Alpine	$45,000	Several windows and skylights were broken by the hail on one home. In addition, two more homes received roof and window damage. One vehicle also reported damage.
August 2002	Flash Flood	Alpine	$30,000	no account filed
June 2014	Hail	Alpine	$29,000	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced baseball sized hail on the edge of Alpine. There were car dents, damaged shingles, and broken house windows as a result of this hail. The cost of damage is a rough estimate.
July 1999	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$20,000	Strong thunderstorms in the Alpine area dropped around 2 inches of rain in 40 minutes and contained at least one microburst that lifted a roof off a house, damaged a porch, overturned sheds, and downed utility lines and tree limbs.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$20,000	no account filed
May 2008	Hail	Alpine	$10,000	Brewster County emergency manager reported baseball sized hail at Hilltop Ranch.
July 2004	Flash Flood	Alpine	$10,000	Heavy rainfall and excessive runoff resulted in flash flooding along Alpine Creek. Police officers barricaded several city streets as flood waters inundated the roadways. Water levels in some locations climbed to three feet. Damage was reported to be minimum, but several houses were threatened.
July 1997	Flash Flood	Alpine	$10,000	Training cells in the Alpine area caused heavy rains and flooding in the city. About 3.5 inches of rain fell over the western half of the city. A van stalled in an underpass and eventually was almost submerged with the roof extending only 18" above the water. Two other vehicles were stranded in water as well.
August 1997	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$10,000	A thunderstorm moving over the city of Alpine collapsed, producing a wet microburst that blew the roof off a trailer, overturned a carport, and knocked down sheds. The storm was not moving extremely fast (at 18kt) but was the fastest moving of the 44 cells on the Midland radar. The storm dumped half its volume in one 6 minute scan with the VIL dropping from 38 to 19 kg/m2. The debris was blown in the direction of the storm movement (NE-SW).
May 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$5,000	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced wind damage in Alpine. A power pole was blown down and signs were shattered and blown down due to strong winds and hail. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
June 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$5,000	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced an estimated 65 mph wind gust in Alpine. A tree fell on a vehicle. The size of the tree and damage to the vehicle are unknown. The cost of damage is a rough estimate.
August 2002	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$5,000	no account filed
June 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$3,000	A cluster of small storms moved over Alpine with microburst winds knocking down utility poles and blowing out windows.
October 2009	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	$2,000	A transmission power pole was reported down along State Highway 118.
May 1999	Hail	Alpine	$2,000	Car windows damaged.
October 2015	Flash Flood	Alpine	$500	Heavy rain fell across Brewster County and produced flash flooding in Alpine. Underpasses on Highway 90 in Alpine were flooded with an estimated two to three feet of water. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
June 2014	Flash Flood	Alpine	$500	Heavy rain moved across Brewster County and produced flash flooding near Alpine. A pasture was flooded. The cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
July 2012	Flash Flood	Alpine	$500	A wide area of heavy rain moved through Brewster County and produced flash flooding in Alpine. Four and a half feet of running water was reported across low- lying crossings in the town. Bridges and crossways were closed due to the flooding. No damage was reported, so the cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
July 2012	Flash Flood	Alpine	$500	Heavy rain moved through Brewster County and produced widespread flooding across Alpine. No damage was indicated, so the cost of damage is a very rough estimate.
June 2013	Hail	Alpine	$200	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced pingpong ball sized hail in Alpine. Trees were stripped of leaves, and flower gardens were destroyed. The cost of damage is a rough estimate.
March 2025	Hail	Alpine	-	Received a phone call of quarter size hail 8 miles south of Alpine along State Highway 118. Time is estimated from radar.
May 2025	Hail	Alpine	-	An MPING report of dime-size hail was received from the public.
May 2023	Hail	Alpine	-	Ping pong to golf ball-sized hail was observed in Alpine.
May 2019	Hail	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced nickel sized hail and minor street flooding eight miles southeast of Alpine.
May 2018	Hail	Alpine	-	Dime to nickel sized hail was reported three miles east of Alpine.
August 2017	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell near Alpine, TX for about 20 minutes. Anywhere from 0.75 to 0.99 inches of rain fell.
May 2016	Funnel Cloud	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced a funnel cloud/gustnado just north of Alpine. No damage was reported with this storm.
August 2016	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell south of Alpine for around an hour. There was a total of 1.35 inches of rain.
August 2016	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced a 62 mph wind gust near Alpine.
July 2016	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell for 40 minutes near Alpine and resulted in about 0.70 inches of accumulation.
May 2015	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell near Alpine. A total of 0.10 to 0.24 inches was recorded over a period of ten minutes.
August 2015	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell across Brewster County with a COOP observer near Alpine reporting 1.00 to 1.24 inches of rain in 30 minutes.
August 2014	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell near Alpine with three quarters to an inch falling in 40 minutes.
July 2014	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell near Alpine with three quarters to almost an inch falling in fifteen minutes.
August 2014	Thunderstorm Wind	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved across Brewster County and produced a 59 mph wind gust in Alpine. No damage was reported.
April 2014	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell 8 miles southeast of Alpine with 0.22 inches of rain falling in 12 minutes.
June 2014	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	There was heavy rain near Alpine and one to one and a quarter of an inch of rain fell in 50 minutes.
June 2014	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell across Brewster County near Alpine. Almost one inch of rain fell in fifteen minutes. This rain caused minor street flooding.
September 2014	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain fell near Alpine with three quarters to near an inch falling in one hour and fifteen minutes.
June 2013	Flash Flood	Alpine	-	Heavy rain moved across Brewster County and produced flash flooding in Alpine. Six to ten inches of water was running over the streets in downtown Alpine. Since there was no damage reported, the cost of damage is assumed to be zero.
June 2013	Flash Flood	Alpine	-	Heavy rain moved across Brewster County and produced flash flooding about eight miles southeast of Alpine. Low water crossings were reported to be flooded. The cost of damage is assumed to be zero since no damage was reported.
June 2013	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	Heavy rain moved across Brewster County. Almost two inches of rain was reported to have fallen within two hours about eight miles southeast of Alpine.
May 2013	Hail	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved over Brewster County and produced penny sized hail in Alpine.
May 2013	Heavy Rain	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved over Brewster County and produced heavy rain in Alpine.
April 2013	Hail	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm developed over Brewster County and produced quarter sized hail in Alpine.
April 2013	Hail	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved over Brewster County and produced golfball sized hail 22 miles south southeast of Alpine. The hail covered the road.
May 2013	Hail	Alpine	-	A thunderstorm moved over Brewster County and produced nickel sized hail three miles west southwest of Alpine.
August 2008	Flash Flood	Alpine	-	Creeks were reported to be out of their banks, with flooding in the city of Alpine.
September 2008	Flash Flood	Alpine	-	At 0225 CST, Local law enforcement in Alpine reported 2 feet of water flowing across U.S. Highway 90 on the west side of Alpine. They also reported several creek crossings closed in and around Alpine.
April 2007	Hail	Alpine	-	Golfball size hail fell along U.S. Highway 67 northeast of Alpine.
June 2007	Flash Flood	Alpine	-	Widespread flooding occurred throughout the city of Alpine. Low water crossings had up to 1.5 feet of water running over the road. Several streets had to be closed due to high water from heavy rains.
May 2007	Hail	Alpine	-	Nickel to quarter sized hail fell south of Alpine.
May 2006	Hail	Alpine	-	Pea to golfball size hail fell in Alpine.
May 2006	Hail	Alpine	-	Nickel to golfball size hail in and around Alpine.
September 2006	Flash Flood	Alpine	-	The Alpine Police Department reported that low water crossings in Alpine had been barricaded due to a foot of water running across most of those crossings.
June 2005	Hail	Alpine	-	Motorists reported nickel size hail along Texas Highway 118 south of Alpine.
June 2005	Hail	Alpine	-	Several reports were received of nickel to quarter size hail as a severe storm tracked south of Alpine.

Every storm recorded in Brewster County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

Listed places nearby

3 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
Holland Hotel	under 500 feet	2025
Nolte-Rooney House	0.3 miles	1997
Grandview Courts-Siesta Motel	0.8 miles	2025

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 78002899 in Record Group 79.
Brewster County	All 14 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.