El Paso County, Texas
To help educate El Paso's students about the background of important County assets maintained to serve the lives of residents, El Paso County commissioned four "place" flags for the Field of Stars collection. Read about them here.
Courthouses of El Paso County, Texas
This flag displays the five structures used throughout the history of El Paso County to house its personnel, courts, judges, Law Library, archives, and various departments involved in carrying out governmental functions. In its early days, it also housed a jail.
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Click here to see the flag.
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El Paso County was organized by the Texas legislature in 1850 during the turbulent period after the U.S./Mexico war. Learn more here.
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The first County Seat was San Elizario. The new County did not have an official building, as such.
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In 1873, the County Seat was moved via an election to Ysleta. While a courthouse was built in Ysleta in 1882, the building did not function as the courthouse for long. An election one year later in 1883 moved the County Seat to the newly-established City of El Paso.
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The second courthouse was constructed in 1886.
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The third courthouse was designed by the renowned architect, Henry Trost, and opened its doors in 1917.
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In 1955, major renovations were carried out on the almost forty-year-old structure to accommodate growth, technological advances, and to house both the County's functions and those of the City of El Paso. During this period, the structure was known as the El Paso City-County Building.
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The structure we see today (2022) is the fifth. Its doors opened in 1991. The inaugural County Judge was the Honorable Alicia R. Chacon who was tasked with the move to the new building. Learn more about this astonishing leader here. Her legacy is honored by the designation in 2022 of the Commissioners Courtroom as the Judge Alicia R. Chacon Commissioners Courtroom.
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In 2020, the Courthouse was officially named the Enrique Moreno County Courthouse.
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Enrique Moreno, attorney, was twice nominated to serve on the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals. He grew up in El Paso, graduating from Austin High School continuing to Harvard Law School. In the 80s, he begin practicing civil rights and employment law. A deeply admired member of the legal community, Moreno was a staunch advocate for justice. As mentor to many attorneys, supporter of many organizations and candidates, he served with keen concern for the less fortunate. He also served as attorney for the Mexican Consulate in El Paso.
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