Ruins of the Reagan County Courthouse in Stiles Texas

In 1903, Reagan County was created in far West Texas.  And at that time Stiles was the largest town in the new county.  It was quickly decided that it would be the new county seat.  So the town went about constructing a new courthouse to serve the county.  The construction was completed in 1911, and the new two story courthouse was built out of the abundant limestone surrounding the town. 

The courthouse was used till 1925, this is when the new railroad was making it way into West Texas and bypassed Stiles in favor of Big Lake.  Soon after Stiles became a ghost town, and Big Lake became the county seat.  The courthouse continued to be used as a meeting place for a few years, but then was abandoned.

Christmas eve of 1999, the courthouse was set on fire.  The arsonist was caught, and is believed to have been responsible for a few other fires in the area.

Today, you can see the stone ruins of the court house from Highway 137, and you can even take Stiles Courthouse Loop to get closer to it.