Comanche County is named for the Comanche Indian tribe that inhabited the region and derives from the Spanish “Camino Ancho” meaning “broad trail”.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Eastland County
E – Erath County
S – Hamilton County and Mills County
W – Brown County
Created: January 25, 1856 
County Seat:
Cora 1856 – 1859
Comanche 1859 – present
County Courthouse – Comanche
Location: 101 West Central Avenue / Austin Avenue
Built: 1941 – 1942
Style: Art Deco
Architect: Wyatt C Hedrick of Fort Worth
Contractor: Tom Pate and E E Gage
Description: The building faces east and is a three story white colored native limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Comanche. The building has high narrow windows and the limestone facing was quarried in the area. Heroic sized cut stone eagles accent the north and south entrances. The wings are one story on either side of the central section. This was a Work Projects Administration project. Located behind the courthouse is the Old Cora Courthouse and to the west is the old stone County Jail at 301 Central Avenue.
See: The architect, Wyatt C Hedrick of Fort Worth also designed courthouses in Austin County, Brazoria County, Coke County, Kaufman County, Kent County, Motley County, Walker County and Yoakum County.
Old Cora Courthouse – Comanche
Location: 101 West Central Avenue / Austin Avenue
Built: 1856
Style: Log Cabin
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces southwest and is a one story log cabin structure. The building is located on the southwest corner of the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Comanche. The building is a split log structure with two one room sections with hipped roof covering both sections. There is an open fireplace. The building which also served as the post office was moved from Cora which served as the first county seat from 1856 to 1859. The building is the oldest standing former courthouse in Texas.
History: The county was created in 1856 and Cora was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built in 1856 and is still standing. The county seat was moved to Comanche in 1859 and a one room building made of pickets called Silas Pickett’s building was rented until the second courthouse, a two story red colored brick structure was designed by Martin V Fleming and built by Martin, Byrne & Johnston in 1876 at a cost of $12,000. The third courthouse was a stone structure designed by Lamour and Watson and constructed by Moody & Ellis in 1890 at a cost of $76,000. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1941 to 1942 at a cost of $195,000. The native stone was quarried about six miles west of Comanche.
County Courthouse – Comanche
Picture 1875 County Courthouse
Picture 1890 County Courthouse
Old Cora Courthouse – Comanche
Old County Jail – Commanche
Photos taken 2006 and 2014