Montgomery County - American Courthouses

Montgomery County is named for is named for Richard Montgomery, who was a United States general killed in the American Revolutionary War.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Sangamon County and Christian County

E – Shelby County and Fayette County

S – Bond County and Madison County

W – Macoupin County

Created: February 12, 1821

County Seat:

Hamilton 1821 – 1823

Hillsboro 1823 – present

County Courthouse – Hillsboro

Location: 1 Courthouse Square / South Main Street

Built: 1868 – 1872

Style: Second Empire and Italianate

Architect: Gordon P Randall of Chicago

Contractor: Joseph C Hanner

Description: The building faces south and is a three story red colored brick structure. The building is located on the landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Hillsboro. On the south front are a square brick tower on the southwest corner, a square tower with mansard roof on the southeast corner, and recessed center section with limestone arches on the first story. The arched windows have limestone sills. On the north side are two small square brick towers that rise four stories and have small mansard roofs. In the interior the first story has a north-south hallway. There is crown molding framing the doorways and the floors have black and white colored marble. The southwest tower has a winding wood staircase leading up to the former courtroom on the second story. The courtroom extends up into the third story and now houses the County Commissioners. An addition was added in 1912.

See: The architect, Gurdon Paine Randall of Chicago also designed the courthouses in Morgan County; and in Georgia in Bibb County; in Indiana in Benton County and Marshall County, and in Michigan in Menominee County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Montgomery County Courthouse

County Office / Courts Building – Hillsboro

Location: 120 North Main Street / Public Square

Built: 1992 – 1993

Style: Modern

Architect: Design Architects Inc. of Hillsboro

Contractor: Grunloh Construction, Inc.

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Hillsboro to the north of the courthouse. There are glass panel walls on either side of the central entrance on the east side. The projecting sections on the east front rise to peaks at the roof line. Narrow horizontal concrete bands cross the exterior. The roof is hipped. In the interior, there is an entrance lobby rising to the top of the second story. On the second story, the hallway along the east side has glass walls with two County Circuit Court courtrooms along the west side and a third courtroom located on the north side of the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit.

See: The 4th Judicial District includes Christian County, Clay County, Clinton County, Effingham County, Fayette County, Jasper County, Marion County and Shelby County.

History: The county was created in 1821 and Hamilton was selected as the county seat. In 1823, the county seat was moved to Hillsboro. The first courthouse was a hewn log structure built in 1824. The second courthouse was a two story frame structure built in 1833 to 1835. The building was remodeled in 18652 to 1853 with a wing added for the jail. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1868 to 1872. The County Court Building was constructed in 1992 to 1993.