1887 Second Empire courthouse in Alpine, Texas, where 21-year-old Harvey Hughes was publicly hanged on April 7, 1923 — both Brewster County's first and one of Texas's last legal public executions.
201 W Ave E, Alpine, TX 79830
Research updated June 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Public exterior access free; ghost tour requires ticket (see ghost tour provider).
Access
Wheelchair OK
Public sidewalks and grounds around the courthouse
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1887 · Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1965) · 1887 Second Empire courthouse; oldest continuously used courthouse in Brewster County · Site of Harvey Hughes public hanging, April 7, 1923 · One of the last legal public hangings in Texas · Brewster County's first legal execution
Brewster County was formed from the eastern reaches of Presidio County in 1887, and Murpheyville — shortly renamed Alpine — became the county seat. The courthouse was among the first substantial public buildings erected in the new county, constructed by contractor Tom Lovell between 1887 and 1888. The building is a two-story red brick structure with Second Empire styling, an unusual architectural choice for West Texas that gives it a sophistication out of proportion to the small county it was built to serve. The Brewster County complex — courthouse and jail together — was built for between $15,000 and $27,000. It was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1965 and remains the oldest courthouse still in active use in a Texas county of comparable age.
The most documented event on the courthouse grounds is the April 7, 1923 hanging of Harvey Hughes. On January 24, 1922, a brakeman was discovered wounded in a freight car near Alpine; he had been shot in the back, beaten, and gagged, and before dying said it was 'hell to feed a man and then have him shoot you in the back for $20.' Harvey Hughes, a 21-year-old transient, was found six miles west of Alpine carrying the victim's belongings — a fountain pen, watch, and money. A Brewster County jury convicted Hughes within a month. A sanity hearing on March 3, 1923 found him mentally competent, and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied his motion for a new trial that same day. Sheriff E.E. Townsend carried out the execution on April 7, 1923, using a rope from San Antonio Sheriff John W. Tobin. Hughes was hanged on the courthouse lawn. This was both Brewster County's first legal hanging and, according to contemporary coverage, one of the last legal public hangings in Texas. Hughes was buried in Alpine's city cemetery.
Sources
The Brewster County Courthouse entered Alpine's paranormal tourism circuit through the Alpine Historic Ghost Tour, launched in November 2021 by the Alpine Historical Association and Sul Ross University's theatre program. The 1.5-mile walking tour was written by Marjie Scott, chair of Sul Ross's fine arts department, and guided by Sul Ross faculty member Bret Scott. It covers five stops — the Reata restaurant (start), the Alpine Railroad Depot, Hotel Ritchey, the Brewster County Courthouse, and the Holland Hotel (end) — with the courthouse included for the Harvey Hughes hanging of 1923.
Hughes's execution was notable for two reasons: it was the first and remains one of the only legal executions conducted in Brewster County, and it was contemporaneously described as one of the last legal public hangings in Texas — a form of execution that other counties had largely moved inside by 1923. The public nature of the event, on the front lawn of the courthouse in the middle of Alpine, gave it a visibility unusual for the era.
Hughes left a written memoir before his execution, remarkable given that he was illiterate — the document has been cited by Texas historian Mike Cox as evidence of Hughes's character. In it Hughes wrote: 'I can not begin to say how sorry I am, for taking a human life, a very much valued human treasure.' No specific paranormal claims about courthouse apparitions have been documented in sources consulted; the site's place in the ghost tour is based on documented historical events rather than reported supernatural activity.
Notable Entities
The 1887 Second Empire courthouse sits on a public block in downtown Alpine. The front lawn was the site of Harvey Hughes's public hanging on April 7, 1923 — Brewster County's first legal execution and one of the last public hangings in Texas. The building is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark (1965).
The courthouse is a designated stop on the Alpine Historic Ghost Tour, a 1.5-mile walking tour organized by the Alpine Historical Association and Sul Ross University's theatre program. The tour begins at the Reata restaurant and covers the courthouse, Alpine Railroad Depot, Hotel Ritchey, and Holland Hotel, recounting murders, hangings, and regional folklore. Tours run seasonally in autumn and spring.
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