James Webb (1792–1856) was an attorney, judge, and politician in the Republic of Texas and during the early days of statehood after its annexation by the United States.

In 1828 he was named a federal judge for the newly created Southern District of Florida by President John Quincy Adams.

In 1854, Webb was appointed judge of the Texas Fourteenth Judicial Circuit Court, based in Corpus Christi, his new home.

[1] In 1823, James Webb moved his residence and law practice from Georgia to Jackson County, Florida.

[2] There were few attorneys in the Florida Panhandle, so James claimed about 400 acres (1.6 km2) of land near a community known only as Chipola Settlement.

He opened a law office in Chipola, and soon took on Peter W. Gautier, already a prominent figure in Florida, as his partner.

The land was well watered by several creeks and rivers, and soon proved highly suitable for agriculture, especially for raising either cotton or sugar.

The Florida Territorial Legislature appointed a commission in 1827 to choose a final site for the county seat, survey it, and begin selling lots.

It happened that the village also contained Webb's law office and a general store owned by Colonel L. M. Stone.

The legislative council also decreed that the Jackson County courts would meet henceforth at Stone's Store.

President John Quincy Adams signed the Act and, three days later, Webb was the new district's first judge.

[3] Powerless to alter the events dismantling the town named for him, James Webb continued to work and live in Key West.

He remained there for nearly two years before President Lamar asked him to serve as full-time Minister to Mexico, beginning March 20, 1841.

[3] President Lamar's term ended in 1841, so Webb opened a private law practice in Texas.