Medina County is named for the Medina River which flows through the county, and the river was named for Pedro Medina, a Spanish engineer.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Bandera County
E – Bexar County and Atascosa County
S – Frio County
W – Uvalde County
Created: February 12, 1848 
County Seat:
Castroville 1848 – 1892
Hondo 1892 – present
County Courthouse – Hondo
Location: 1100 16th Street / Avenue M
Built: 1892 – 1893
Style: Italianate
Architect: Martin, Byrne & Johnston
Contractor: Martin, Byrne & Johnston
Description: The building faces south and is a three story yellowish colored limestone structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of the Hondo. The south front has a small stone framed doorway with balcony on the second story and rising to a peaked roof above the third story. The building is recessed on the east and west with two story wings on the east and west sides. The center of the roof rises with a low red colored roofed section. In the interior, the courtroom is located on the second story and extends into the third story with a small gallery on the third story.. The building houses the State District Court, Constitutional County Court, County Court at Law and County Justice Court. In 1938 to 1940, the building was enlarged with two story wings added and the clock tower removed. The architect was Joseph Palle and the contractor was F T Drought under the Work Projects Administration. In 1988, the building was restored. The architect was Jesse O Fernandez and the contractor was Merkin Construction Inc. and Hydro Lazer DBA White Stone Contractors. On the northeast side is the two story limestone jail constructed in 1893.
Note: The 4th Administrative Judicial Region has a main office at San Antonio in Bexar County.
County Courthouse Annex – Hondo
Location: 1300 Avenue M / 14th Street
Built: 2019 – 2021
Style: Modern
Architect: RVK Architects of San Antonio
Contractor: Teel Construction of Channelview
Description: The building faces east and is a two story yellowish colored limestone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the Hondo to the northwest of the courthouse. The east front has a slightly projecting center section with entrance on the first story, large window on the second story and rising to a hipped roof. Along the flat roof line sloped sections extend from the building. In the interior there is a long center corridor with staircase rising to the second story. There are two large courtrooms located on the second story.
Old County Courthouse – Castroville
Location: 1209 Fiorella Street / London Street
Built: 1854 – 1855
Style: Second Renaissance Revival
Architect: Joseph Burger
Contractor: Joseph Burger
Description: The building faces southwest and is a two story stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of the city and has 18 inch thick walls. On the west side are double steps to the second story entrance. An addition was built in 1879. The contractor was Blasius Kiefler. The building was remodeled in 1936.
History: The county was created in 1848 and Castroville was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story stone structure built in 1854 to 1855 and is still standing. The county seat was moved to Hondo in 1892. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1892 to 1893 at a cost of $40,000. The stone for the building was quarried from Joseph Decker’s ranch which was seven miles northeast of Hondo. The County Courthouse Annex was constructed in 20190 to 2021 at a cost of $12,000,000.
County Courthouse – Hondo
Old County Jail – Hondo
Old County Courthouse – Castroville
Photos taken 2009 and 2017