"Almost" - Life is full of these. Sometimes they shape a person's character. In this case, a…read moretown, Columbus, is a city of "almost". This was almost the capital of Texas. It's almost where Sam Houston would have fought with Santa Anna. It almost has the largest oak in Texas. Columbus is a quaint small town that many people almost stop in to discover en route west. It's almost exactly between Houston and Austin. Why pull in a Rest Stop when you can stop in Columbus? That was my reasoning in a drive between San Antonio and Houston. I wanted to see the old, big oak trees. I love the character they show with their rough, low hanging, crooked branches, offering comfortable shade and a home to animals for generations. These senior citizens sit as silent witnesses to some key events in Texas history, such as the Runaway Scrape and many storms that took lesser trees who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. Similarly, the Colorado River shows its old character, having carved a winding path on which the city of Columbus sits on the south bank. I wanted to check out the scenery and launching areas for kayaks for a potential future trip. I need an overview map. It was almost 5:00 pm, and I almost missed the visitor center before it closed for the day. Across from the grand courthouse, this visitor center is a small low-budget operation, but has lots of brochures, maps, some interesting historical material about Columbus, and the friendly staff was very helpful. The Visitor Center gave me a brochure on Paddling the Colorado River. And the website says " through the town of Columbus you have the opportunity to see wildflowers, birds, turtles and more! This 6.5 mile trail can take anywhere from two to five hours to complete, and the peaceful waters and calm rapids will give you a wonderful day on the river." -- http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/inland/columbus/ The staff at the Center also marked on a map where the biggest oaks are located: "Columbus Oak" is the second-largest live oak in Texas: http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHistory/TexasHistoricTrees/Columbus-Oak.htm Oak in the middle of Wallace street: http://www.pbase.com/rolfwest/image/108700078 and another street: http://www.pbase.com/rolfwest/image/108700081 You might even say Columbus itself is in the middle of the roads I-10 and Highway 90 Business. "Middle of the road"... hmmm....That generally means a compromise to leave a problem unsolved (especially in politics), where neither side regarding an issue is really happy. That is not true of these oaks in the middle of the road, however. Whereas, a big city developer typically clears the land of trees and lays down a grid of streets and lots, that was not so, here. They kept old oaks. The people for generations have respected, cared for and love their oak trees. "The Hanging Tree": Death row was swift in pioneer days. Now, only Spanish moss hangs. http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHistory/TexasHistoricTrees/Columbus-Hanging-Tree.htm "Court Oak" (died, but has a marker), where in 1837 Three-Legged Willie held court under this tree while waiting for the old burned-down-to-keep-Santa-Anna-from-using-it courthouse to be rebuilt: http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasHistory/TexasHistoricTrees/Columbus-Court-Oak.htm I *almost* held-off publishing this review, but the city is interesting. Discover it.

What a cool old courthouse. Really love that Texas is restoring so many of them. This one is…read morebeautiful. Completely open to the public. Only room you can't go in is the actual courtroom if court is in session. Luckily for us, it wasn't. Love the woodwork. Looking at it reminded me of courtroom scenes from old movies. Don't forget to look up. One of the most beautiful stained glass ceilings you can imagine. Another great stop. Not only is this an old Opera House, still in use for a variety of events, but this is where the Chamber of Commerce/Visitor Center is. When we stopped, two young ladies were very friendly and helpful is suggesting activities for us to do while in the area. One of the unique options they have is an audio driving tour around the town. You follow a route and in front of historical buidlings there is a sign indicating what radio station to turn to for information. We enjoyed our day in Columbus. Make sure you stop in the Visitors Center and say hi!

I took a day trip to La Grange to check out the bluebonnets (don't judge) and wanted to see what…read morethe city is all about. I checked out TripAdvisor to see what the top attractions in town are. Fayette County Courthouse was on the list. Located in downtown La Grange, the courthouse is surrounded by a nice square with lots of businesses, restaurants, and more close by. Like a lot of small towns, the county courthouse is one of the most picturesque parts of town. This one is no different. While the courthouse was closed and I couldn't go inside, it was still nice to check out from the outside from all angles and read a little bit about the history of the landmark.

The courthouse has a lot of history and it's a very good looking building. They have remodeled the…read moreinside, it's worth a stop if you are driving through La Grange. Stop in an visit with some of the folks working there, they can share some interesting facts about the county and the town. They always have nice Christmas decorations during the holidays.

Getting a passport today was super easy! Bring everything they list on their website and you'll be…read morein and out in less than 30 minutes. Janelle (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) is the sweetest employee. We even met their director of customer service randomly in the elevator. He was very polite and shook our hand. Overall, we were very pleased with our experience. As a Harris County resident I'm happy to drive out here instead for the exemplary service and beautiful building.

I came in to inquire about up dating my passport. I had tried the night before but the system would…read morenot let me. The lady at the front desk was very helpful and I came home and tried again to file online and realized I had put my whole name where it said Last name. (It was night and my lighting wasn't good) Everything went through this time. Now I'll wait on it.

I came here to register my car after moving here from another state. The First Lady I got was kind…read moreenough to mark up my paper with all the information I needed. I had to come back because I forgot my my registration. I came back about 30 minutes later and got someone else who was just as helpful. Both ladies were friendly and full of information. The line isn't that long and the wait time was short.

I have been trying to communicate with the Judge Secretary since Wednesday with no response. I was…read moretold how to handle something now neither party is answering. At 1340 I called the Precinct again today to ask what was the price to file a Motion, they told me I would get a returned call because they did not have the answer. Now 1900 I have yet to get a call. Now I'm thinking just because the position they hold, they think they can do whatever. I warned them I would be posting everything public because Elgin is known for their ways of whiteness.

This is where we got married. Overall, our experience was good…read more Our wedding date was July 3rd (2009), so I called way in advance to make sure that would work out since it was a Friday before a major holiday and we wanted to get married in the early afternoon. This ended up working out fine for Judge Benton Eskew's schedule, so I went ahead and set things up with his secretary. I called back a couple of weeks before the wedding to confirm the date/time just to check, and I nearly passed out (really, at the time I had a heart condition that is now surgically corrected) when the secretary at first said she didn't have it down in her book. But then she checked the Judge's calendar, and our appointment was written down there. So everything was actually okay, it was just a bad scare (yep, that's why 4 stars and not 5). A few days before the wedding my now-husband and I went to get our marriage license. The employee we interacted with was very nice, she made friendly conversation with us while getting everything ready. We were given a funny little book about marriage, which was much more gender-equal than I expected. Our actual wedding went great. The Judge and the other employees were very friendly, and accommodating of the fact that we brought a small group with us. We were surprised that the Judge had a page of bible verses to read out before marrying us ... I realize that might bother others of course, and that's why I'm mentioning it, but it wasn't a big deal to us and probably made our families happy. He also spoke about the rings' symbolic function, etc. From what I'd previously heard about courthouse weddings, I had just been expecting something much more sterile/perfunctory/impersonal than what we got, so I was very happy. We have many great pictures from our ceremony (friends and family took them), when we were only expecting to have a few. When we later got our marriage certificate in the mail we received another happy surprise: it was actually nice to look at! We were planning on displaying it in our home anyway, but we expedited the process since the certificate was so pretty.

Grew up in Yoakum but never took the time to see what Gonzales had to offer. There were a few…read morehistorical plaques, memorial stones, and informational boards displayed on the property. The courthouse is also very close to Texas Heroes Square, Confederate Square, and the County Jail Museum. Definitely worth spending a few hours in downtown.

My wife and I came here with the Grandbaby on our Texas Courthouse run in the 1st part of April…read more The Gonzales County Courthouse in Gonzales is a great example of a late 1800's style architecture for a Texas County Courthouse. Beautiful little town and area, even prettier Courthouse!

The courthouse and the surrounding plaza are well-worth visiting. There are plenty of historical…read moreplaques and statues situated around the area. I spent the time walking around observing the history and taking pictures. Once inside the courthouse, I was allowed upstairs to visit the original courtroom. Of course I was ecstatic about the opportunity. If you live in the area, don't pass up the chance to learn about the city and county in which you live. You will be pleased to learn the founding and evolution of the surrounding areas.

I needed some Probate records from Williamson County Chancery Court. Kelsey Dugger answered the…read morephone and emailed me the records within 3 minutes! She was fantastic.

Welcome to the BBQ Capital of Texas...and then some…read more Historic downtown on the National Register of Historic Places. Incredible architecture. Quaint shops, pubs, restaurants, and of course bbq joints! Beautiful state park and Chisholm trail. Caldwell County Courthouse boasts extraordinary architectural elements. Just about 30-40 minutes from Austin, it makes for a perfect day trip or overnighter. Easily walkable. Friendly folks. Perfectly charming old west town.

Was passing through and decided to scratch off a bucket list item. For years I have wanted to check…read moreout the county courthouse. In fact, Texas Highways Magazine had a great write-up about the downtown square. Had to look and see for myself. I was not disappointed! I didn't go inside, but I was just as impressed with the grounds and historical markers. Don't pass up an opportunity to checkout the City of Lockhart.