"Guadalupe County was organized in 1846. The first officers were H. G. Henderson, chief justice; Thomas H. Duggan, county clerk; Asa J. L. Sowell, district clerk; Milton Osborne, sheriff, and William G. King, assessor and collector of taxes.

The first term of the district court was held in September, 1846, at the residence of Mr. Paris Smith, afterwards known as the Rust place. Hon. William E. Jones was judge, Asa J. L. Sowell district clerk, John A. Green district attorney, Milton Osborne sheriff. The sitting of the grand jury was in the live- oak grove now inclosed in the yard of G. W. L. Baker. The following are the names of the first grand jury : Paris Smith, foreman; Sam Towner, John F. Tom, S. R. Miller, Col. French Smith. G. W. Lonis, John W. Nichols, C. A. Smith, John Sheffield. Soloman G. Nichols. I. H. Turner, John N. Sowell, John R. King, Matthew A. Doyle, and Andrew J. Sowell, Sr.

The first bill found was State v. William Baker, charged with theft of a hair brush. His sentence was to be publicly whipped in the square. This sentence was only partly carried out, so some of the old settlers say, by Col. French Smith coming on the scene when about five licks were struck, and picking up a rock, told the man who was laying them on to desist.

One of the grand jury, George Washington Lonis, was a veteran of San Jacinto, and was severely wounded in the breast on that occasion, as was also John F. Tom, who had a leg broken by a musket ball there. John Sowell, another one. was also in the battle of San Jacinto, and loaned a pistol to a man to shoot Santa Anna. Matthew Doyle was one of James Bowie's men in his terrible Indian battle near the San Saba gold mines.

The first petit jury was as follows: Solomon W. Brill, foreman ; Joseph Zorn, Jacob Eckstein, John Lowe, P. Medlin, W. B. Pinchard, William C. Winters, E. P. Forest, — Baker, William Turner and W. Clark.  In 1847 a contract for building the first courthouse was let to Thomas D. Spain. It was a two-story frame building 30x50 feet. The upper ioom was to be used as a courtroom; the lower part was divided into four rooms, for the chief justice, county and district clerks, and sheriff." source: Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest Texas