Hamilton, Hamilton County
Before era of this impressive courthouse, Hamilton County's government was housed in stores, a rustic school, a former livery stable, a 2-story building with top floor especially designed for a courtroom, and briefly in a saloon. Fire razed two of the early, improvised courthouses. First permanent one, built 1878, also burned in 1886. In those days, outlaws were so numerous that guards were hired to protect visiting judges. This 1887 structure of native limestone, quarried 2 miles east of Hamilton, remained unchanged until it was remodeled in 1931.