Bell County Courthouses
Belton, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Three Bell County courthouses have stood on this site--part of the 120 acres given by Matilda F. Connell Allen for the location of the county seat. Prior to erection of a courthouse, early official business of the county (created and organized, 1850) was handled in blacksmith shop of John Danley, the first chief justice. His anvil (in one of the three original buildings in Belton) was the council table. First courthouse was a one-story (16' x 18') frame building erected by contractor Thomas T. Havens in 1851, at cost of $199, financed by sale of city lots. On April 1, 1858, the commissioners contracted for a two-story (50' x 60') native limestone building with intersecting main halls, fireplaces on each floor, double doors and other fine details. Cost ($13,625) was so resented that none of the commissioners were re-elected. Simeon Bramlet was the contractor. This building was in service from Dec. 1, 1859, until 1884. Cornerstone for third courthouse was laid on June 24, 1884; structure was completed by May 30, 1885. Ben D. Lee contracted to build it for $64.965. It has been improved at later dates. The county clerk's office was fireproofed in 1898. In 1950, there was extensive remodeling and modernizing. (1970)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Three successive courthouses have stood on this square since Bell County was organized in 1850, on land donated by Matilda F. Connell Allen for the county seat. Before any courthouse existed, the county's first business was conducted in John Danley's blacksmith shop, where his anvil served as the council table. A modest $199 frame building of 1851 gave way to a limestone courthouse in 1859 whose cost so angered voters that every commissioner was turned out of office, and a grander third courthouse followed in 1885.
Why it matters
The story of Bell County's courthouses traces how raw frontier settlements built the institutions of self-government, one building—and one taxpayer revolt—at a time.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Matilda F. Connell Allen
- · John Danley
- · Ben D. Lee
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Peter Hansbrough Bell
Belton, TX
Peter Hansbrough Bell's life reads like a roll call of the Texas frontier's founding decades. He charged with Sam Houston's army at San Jacinto in 1836, rode with the Texas Rangers and mounted volunteers through the Mexican War, then traded the saddle for the statehouse as Texas's third governor before serving in the U.S. Congress. This granite monument was raised by the state in 1936, the centennial of Texas independence, to honor a man who helped both win and govern the young republic.
Bell County Courthouse
Belton, TX
Designed by Jasper N. Preston & Son of Austin and built in 1885, the Bell County Courthouse rose in Renaissance Revival style with arched passageways, a columned clock tower, and rusticated limestone. Its original tower was removed in the 1950s but faithfully rebuilt in 1999 from historic photographs. The building's style echoes through downtown Belton, much of which was rebuilt after an 1889 fire.
William Whitaker Reed
Belton, TX
William Whitaker Reed came to Texas from Tennessee in 1833 and joined Robertson's colony, taking land along the Little River just as the Texas Revolution swept the region. His family fled in the 'Runaway Scrape,' and he and his brother enlisted in the Republic of Texas Army, helping bury the remains of Fannin's men massacred at Goliad. Settling permanently after the war, Reed helped organize Bell County in 1850 and served as its first sheriff.
Early Bell County Jail
Belton, TX
A two-story log jail first stood on this site in 1854, replaced in 1873 by this building of native limestone. In 1874 vigilantes gathered from across Texas raided the jail and executed nine men held on charges of murder, robbery, and horse theft—an act contemporaries credited with helping end the region's lawlessness. The building later served the city of Belton before being sold, and was recorded as a Texas Historic Landmark in 1967.