Hallettsville is the county seat of Lavaca County. It is intersected by HWY 90 and HWY 77 around 100 miles from Austin, San Antonio and Houston. The town was named after James and Margaret Hallett. John Hallett had received a land grant from Stephen F. Austin in 1831 and after his death, his wife donated land for the town which became known as Hallettsville TX. According to history and local lore, the town of nearby Petersburg wanted to be the county seat. Petersburg had been a crossroads for early Texians, located at the intersection of the San Felipe-Gonzales-San Antonio and the Victoria-Columbus roads, about six miles southeast of Hallettsville. A single building was used as a combined courthouse, church, school, and sheriff’s office. Although Petersburg built a new courthouse in the 1850s, Hallettsville was named the county seat of Lavaca county in 1852. According to historians, Hallettsville officials retrieved the archived county records from the uncooperative citizens of Petersburg at gunpoint.
Hallettsville is the home of the Lavaca County Courthouse, built in 1897, and designed by Eugene T. Heiner. The beautiful limestone, cruciform plan 3-story building serves as the centerpiece of the historic downtown.
