Editing Harris County, Texas (section)

===County facilities===
The 1910 county courthouse was renovated in the 1950s to update its systems. In the 21st century, the facility received another major renovation. Completed in 2011, the $50 million, eight-year project was designed to restore notable historic aspects of the courthouse while providing for contemporary communication and building needs.<ref>{{cite news |last=Gonzales |first=J.R. |url=https://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2011/08/crown-jewel-of-harris-county-government-finally-gets-to-shine/ |title=Crown jewel of Harris County government finally gets to shine |work=Houston Chronicle |date=August 23, 2011}}</ref>

The [[Texas Courts of Appeals|Texas First Court of Appeals]] and the [[Texas Courts of Appeals|Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals]], since September 3, 2010, are located in the 1910 Harris County courthouse.<ref>"[http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/contact.asp Contact Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100725195254/http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/contact.asp |date=July 25, 2010 }}." Texas First Court of Appeals. Retrieved on September 12, 2011. "NEW ADDRESS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 First Court of Appeals 301 Fannin Houston, Texas 77002-2066"</ref><ref>"[http://www.14thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/contact.asp Contact Information] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100726011620/http://www.14thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/contact.asp |date=July 26, 2010 }}." Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Retrieved on September 12, 2011. "NEW ADDRESS EFFECTIVE SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 Fourteenth Court of Appeals 301 Fannin, Suite 245 Houston, Texas 77002"</ref> Previously they were located on the campus of the [[South Texas College of Law]].<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20100725195254/http://www.1stcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/contact.asp Contact Information]." Texas First Court of Appeals. Retrieved on March 9, 2010. "Physical Location First Court of Appeals 1307 San Jacinto Street, 10th Floor (intersection of Clay and San Jacinto Streets) Houston, Texas. [https://web.archive.org/web/20100726011620/http://www.14thcoa.courts.state.tx.us/court/contact.asp Contact Information]." Texas Fourteenth Court of Appeals. Retrieved on March 9, 2010. "Physical Location Fourteenth Court of Appeals 1307 San Jacinto, 11th Floor Houston, TX 77002 "</ref>

The [[Harris County, Texas jails|Harris County Jail Complex]] of the [[Harris County Sheriff's Office]] (HCSO) is the largest in Texas, and one of the largest in the nation. In July 2012, the facility held 9,113 prisoners. To handle overcrowding in the facility, the county had to ship inmates to other counties and some are housed out of the state.<ref>{{cite web |title=Harris County jail population reductions may be short-lived if Judges, new DA don't act responsibly |work=Grits for Breakfast Blog |date=September 14, 2012 |url=http://gritsforbreakfast.blogspot.com/2012/09/harris-county-jail-populations-may-be.html}}</ref>

The county has a [[potter's field]], the Harris County Cemetery on Oates Road in Houston, which previously had housing for elderly people. It has {{convert|18|acre|ha}} of land. It was established in 1921 on property taken from police officers who had acted corruptly. The county paid $80,000 for {{convert|100|acre|ha}} of land, then put in the Harris County Home For the Aged, a [[poor farm]] for elderly people of all races which had a capacity of 100; the poor farm opened in 1922. Around that time, the county cemetery was also established there. The Harris County Commissioners closed the poor farm in August 1958.<ref name=Collierfulloflife>{{cite web|last=Collier|first=Kiah|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/County-pauper-cemetery-used-to-be-full-of-life-5616267.php|title=County cemetery used to be full of life|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=July 14, 2014|access-date=November 20, 2023}}</ref> In 2014, no more burials were allowed to occur at the Oates Road facility due to overcapacity.<ref name=BrownHatenew>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Nate|url=https://www.chron.com/neighborhood/humble/news/article/New-cemetery-for-indigent-burials-opens-9682874.php|title=New cemetery for indigent burials opens|newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]]|date=June 23, 2014|access-date=November 20, 2023}}</ref>

By 2013 the county was building a second potter's field due to overcapacity at the first.<ref name=Collierfulloflife/> Harris County Eastgate Cemetery had started operations in 2014.<ref name=BrownHatenew/> It is near the [[Crosby, Texas|Crosby]] [[census-designated place]] and has a Crosby postal address.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://csd.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/AboutUs.aspx|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203140808/https://csd.harriscountytx.gov/Pages/AboutUs.aspx|title=About Us Harris County Community Services Department|publisher=Harris County Government|archive-date=December 3, 2020|access-date=November 20, 2023|quote=Burial is provided at the Harris County Cemetery, at 21122 Crosby Eastgate Road.}} - The cemetery referred to here is the new one in the Crosby area, and not the old one on Oates Road.<br />Compare to: {{cite web|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/maps/DC2020/DC20BLK/st48_tx/place/p4817756_crosby/DC20BLK_P4817756.pdf|title=2020 CENSUS - CENSUS BLOCK MAP: Crosby CDP, TX|publisher=[[U.S. Census Bureau]]|access-date=November 20, 2023}} - The cemetery is not in the boundaries of the CDP.</ref>

The county had a poor farm in what is now [[West University Place]] that closed in 1923. The county cemetery was formerly there; the bodies were transferred to the new property.<ref name=Collierfulloflife/>