COUNTY ORGANIZED: 1854

COUNTY NAMED FOR: Texas revolutionary leader Henry Wax Karnes

COUNTY SEATS: Two - Helena and Karnes City

COUNTY SEAT NAMED FOR:  In 1852 Thomas Ruckman and Lewis S. Owings founded Helena at the site of an earlier Mexican trading post called Alamita. They renamed the town in honor of Dr. Owings's wife, Helen.

COURTHOUSES: Three - 1854 and 1873 in Helena; 1894 in Karnes City.

STANDING: Two - 1873 courthouse in Helena is now the Karnes County Museum. The 1894 courthouse in Karnes City is a Romanesque Revival design.

LINKS: Karnes County