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Bell County
Courthouse
County
Seat - Belton, Texas
Date - 1884
Architect - Jasper N. Preston and Sons
Style - Renaissance Revival
Belton
Hotels
Book Your Hotel Here & Save
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Bell County
Courthouse after recent restoration
Photo courtesy Barclay
Gibson, March 2003 |
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1884 Bell County Courthouse has recently undergone a restoration that
replaced the bell tower that had been missing for many years. The
same construction firm that finished off the clock tower for Cameron's
Milam
County Courthouse did this job. Modern lightweight materials now
allow many courthouses to appear the way their architects intended.
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Bell
County Courthouse in the 1960s (Note missing bell tower)
Postcard
courtesy rootsweb.com/
~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
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Bell
County Courthouse as it appeared in 1939
Photo courtesy TXDoT |
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Bell
County Courthouse
Old postcard circa 1940 |
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Another
view of the Bell County Courthouse
Postcard
courtesy rootsweb.com/
~txgenweb// postcards/Index.html |
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A
pre-automobile view of the Bell County Courthouse and courthouse square
Photo courtesy THC |
The Naming
of Belton and Bell County
Both
Belton and Bell County were named after Peter (I-might-just-be-a-Colonel-but-I've-got-a-Texas-County-named-after-me)
Bell. Bell was a mere Colonel in the Civil War, but he was
a Mexican War Veteran, and before that, a San Jacinto Veteran. In
his spare time he was a Texas Ranger, a Congressional Representative
and a Governor.
Belton is a little different from other County Seats, in that it hasn't
the dominant population in the County. Belton's 14,500 are quite happy
where they are and with Temple's
50,000 being where they are. |
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