Bell County is named for Peter Hansboro Bell, who was the third Governor of Texas.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Coryell County and McLennan County
E – Falls County and Milam County
W – Burnet County and Lampasas County
Created: January 22, 1850 
Belton 1851 – present
County Courthouse – Belton
Location: 101 West Central Avenue / South Main Street
Built: 1883 – 1884
Style: Beaux Arts
Architect: Jasper N Preston & Sons
Contractor: Ben D Lee
Description: The building faces north and is a three story native limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Belton. The north front has a large portico with three stone arches on the first story and four columns rising from the second story to the top of the third story with pediment above. On the center of the roof is a large square dome rising to a smaller dome with clock and statue of Justice at the top. The corner sections of the building project from the main building and have small square cupolas. In the interior, there are marble floors and wainscoting and naturally finished wood. The large courtroom is located on the second story. The Old Historic Courtroom is located on the first story and has a paneled ceiling supported by fluted pilasters with paneled pedestals and carved capitals and bases. In 1950, the building was renovated. The architect was Niggli & Gustafson of Austin and the contractor was Eitze-Kitchens Construction Company of Austin. The building was restored in 1989. In 1999, the building was further renovated. The architect was The Williams Company and the contractor was Baird Williams Construction Inc. of Temple.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Bell County Courthouse
County Justice Center – Belton
Location: 101 Huey Street / South Loop 121
Built: 2004 – 2006
Style: Modern
Architect: Wiginton Hooker Jeffry Architects of Dallas
Contractor: Skanska USA Building, Inc. of Dallas
Description: The building faces north and is a two story glass, natural stone, stucco and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds on the south west of the center of Belton. At the center rises a three story glass and concrete tower with entrance on the first story. The roof line is flat. The west wing contains the District Court and Constitutional County Court and the east wing containing the County Court at Law. The building has ten County District Court courtrooms. The architect was Wiginton Hooker Jeffry Architects of Dallas and the contractor was Skanska USA Building, Inc. An addition was constructed in 2010.
History: The county was created in 1850 and Belton was selected as the county seat in 1851. The county first met in the blacksmith shop of John Dasnley. The first courthouse was a two room log cabin built by Thomas T Havens in 1851 at a cost of $199. The second courthouse was a two story native limestone structure built by Simon Bramlet in 1858 at a cost of $13,625 and was torn down to make way for the third and present courthouse which was constructed at a cost of $64,965. The courthouse has a statue of Peter H Bell located on the spacious grounds. In 1999, the dome that was removed in 1950, was restored on the top of the building. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2004 to 2006.
County Courthouse – Belton
Statue of Peter Hansboro Bell
Old Historic Courtroom
County Justice Center – Belton
Photos taken 2009, 2017 and 2019
Images 32*