Hill County Courthouse

Hill County was organized in 1853, and its square has held five courthouses, according to the state marker. The present one, completed in 1890, was designed by Waco architect W. C. Dodson, built by contractor Thomas Lovell, and faced in limestone in the Second Empire style. A 1,525-pound bell cast in Baltimore and a clock from a Boston firm went into the tower in 1891. The bell rang the hours for 102 years.

On the night of January 1, 1993, fire broke out, and the marker gives the official cause as electrical. Only the four limestone walls were left. The clock tower and the wooden interior collapsed into the basement, though the heavy iron staircases survived. Rebuilding was paid for with local fundraising, including two Willie Nelson concerts, plus grants, insurance, state transportation funds and county bonds. Architexas of Dallas oversaw the work, and the courthouse was dedicated again on April 24, 1999.

The building is a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, designated in 1964, a State Antiquities Landmark, and on the National Register since 1971. Hillsboro was among the first Texas towns chosen for the Texas Historical Commission's Main Street Program, in 1981. The courthouse lawn also holds a Confederate monument.