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County History |
Courthouse History |
| Bell County was created from Milam County
just five years after Texas entered the Union. County Commissioners chose a county
seat on the banks of Nolan Creek and named it Nolandsville. Two years later,
January 12, 1852, the town's name became Belton and it was incorporated. Belton's first settlers built houses, stores, saloons, and a hotel and prospered until the Civil War when they lined up behind the South. When things went bad for the South, Belton also experienced tough times. By the 1880s, Belton had recovered from the war and began to flourish once again. It was the largest town in Bell County and had a brisk economy. Belton would have become a boom town if it had a railroad, but it only reached its doorstep as the Santa Fe Railroad crossed the county line on the eastern edge near Rogers. During the mid to late 1860s, the Chisholm Trail cut through central Bell County along a route between the present day cities of Belton and Salado. The 1860's also saw the establishment of the female religious commune known as the True Church Colony which flourished until about 1900. Between 1877 and 1915, ten railroads considered placing tracks through Bell County, but only two companies actually came to the area. At a time when railroads made and broke rural communities, the acquisition of a railroad was important. The Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad, known as the Katy, went through Belton, while the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad, known as the Santa Fe, established a new town just north of Belton, known as Temple. To provide the railroad employees with health care, Santa Fe hospital became the city's first hospital in 1891. Then in 1896, King's Daughters Hospital was established. Temple Sanitarium began in 1897 and later evolved into Scott & White. In 1983, Santa Fe combined with Scott & White. The first woman elected as governor in the United States was Miriam Amanda Wallace Ferguson. Ms. Ferguson was born near Little River and she served from 1925-1927 and 1933-1935. Her husband, James Edward Ferguson was born near Salado and elected as governor from 1915-1917. Alvin Ailey, the founder of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is a native of Rogers. |
On November 14, 1883, the Commissioners
Court of Bell County authorized the issuance of bonds and levy a tax therefore for the
building of a County Courthouse. Said issue being in the amount of $65,000.00.
The order sets forth the fact that....."several successive Grand Juries of
Bell County have condemned in unmeasured terms, the present County Courthouse as an unsafe
repository of the County's records.....". Further, it was ordered that the
County Judge, W.M. Minyard advertise in the Galveston News until the 31st day of December
1883 for plans and specifications for the erection of a new Courthouse in Belton. He
was ordered that the cost not exceed $65,000.00 and to be of dimensions sufficient to
supply necessary Courtrooms, jury rooms, offices for all County Officers and one Justice
of the Peace and ample room for all the records of the County; to be practically fire
proof, and the walls of said Courthouse to be built of the best and hardest limestone
found in and about Belton. On January 11, 1884, the firm of J.N. Preston and Son of Austin, Texas was employed as Architects for the building. On March 3, 1884, bids were opened by the Court and Ben D. Lee, a local builder was awarded the contract in the amount of $64,965.00. On May 29, 1885, the Architect recommended that the Courthouse be accepted and thereafter the Court issued its "Certificate of Acceptance" of such building. The present building is the third Courthouse in Bell County built on the same site. The first such building being a two room log cabin built in 1851 soon after the creation of the County in 1850. The second such structure was built in 1858 and torn down to make way for the third Courthouse. The Bell County Courthouse designed in the Renaissance Revival style was truly a magnificent structure in 1884. This structure, which was built before the current state capital, is one of Texas' finest courthouses in a collection of outstanding public buildings. However, like many of the prominent Texas courthouses, federally funded renovation projects of the 1930's and 1950's had a detrimental impact on the building. The clock tower and much of the rich roof details were removed, the historic interior was modernized and radically altered. The present Commissioners Court began the process of a complete restoration of the Bell County Courthouse. The restoration began in August 1998 and the interior renovation was completed in November 1999. The statue, dome, and clock tower were replaced with replicas in December 1999, returning the Courthouse to near its original beauty. The Courthouse is on the National Register of Historic Buildings and on the State Archeological Site Register. A statue of Peter Hansborough Bell, the Governor who created Bell County and its namesake, stands on the Southwest corner of the Courthouse square. Governor Bell was a San Jacinto veteran, Mexican War veteran, Texas Ranger, Governor, Congressional Representative, and later a Colonel in the Confederacy. The county seat, previously named Nolandsville, was changed to Belton due to a postal problem and is most likely a contraction of Bell and town. |
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