The Hill County Courthouse is a three-story limestone structure of Second Empire style, but it also incorporates Classical Revival and Italianate influences. Two-story high Corinthian columns, mansard roof treatment, and a wood framed three-tier 70-foot high clock tower covered with ornate tin work are the most conspicuous details of this regionally-influenced architectural marvel. This building is the third and arguably the grandest of three similar courthouses designed by architect W. C. Dodson in the last half of the 1880’s.
On January 1, 1993 was heavily damaged by an electrical fire. It was rebuilt, courtesy of donations from around the world and two concerts sponsored by Hill County native Willie Nelson. The courthouse (See Hill County, Texas for photograph.) won the Downtown Association’s 1999 award for “Best Restoration”. The renovation sparked an interest in restoring Texas’s historic courthouses. The Hill County courthouse is eight miles from Willie Nelson’s hometown, Abbott.
