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 August 10, 2008 | Williamson County Courthouse Texas County Courthouse Project #35: Williamson County (Georgetown, Texas) As the threat of Indian raids decreased in the late 1840’s many settlers moved into what would become Williamson County. In 1848 the county was established and named for Robert McAlpin Williamson, or as he is more famously known, Three Legged Willie. As a boy in Georgia, Williamson became ill and as a result was left with a useless right leg, forcing him to wear a wooden one under his bent knee. Well educated before he came to Texas, he ran two newspapers before being called to fight for Independence. He formed a company of Texas Rangers and was in William H. Smith's cavalry company at the battle of San Jacinto. After the war he served as judge, congressman and senator. He was known for his quick wit and sense of humor. After his political life he moved to Independence and began writing a history of Texas. He never fully recovered from the grief of losing his wife in 1858, however, and died the following year. George Washington Glasscock went with old Ben Milam to San Antonio during the Texas Revolution, served as a Texas legislator, was a manager for the Lunatic Asylum in Austin and helped organize Williamson County. He donated land for a county seat, which was named Georgetown in his honor. The current courthouse was built in 1911, replacing an 1877 courthouse which was razed to make way for the new one. It was remodeled somewhat in 1965 with the removal of the ornate elements. County Attorney and future governor Dan Moody held nationally publicized trials against the Klu Klux Klan in the Williamson County Courthouse in 1923. His wins against the group helped loosen their grip on Texas and the south. 
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