Formed January 1, 1856 (106th county)
Hamilton County (8,221), Hamilton (2,894)
The limestone Second Empire courthouse was built in 1886 and is on the city square between Main, Rice, Bell, and Henry streets. Main Street is Texas State Highway 36 and Rice Street is United States Highway 281. The architect was Mason, Martin, Byrnes & Johnston; however, E. M. Miles provided the drawings for a major remodeling and enlarging in 1931. It was renovated in 2012. A former 1975 bank building was converted to be an Annex for county offices. Three courthouses have served Hamilton County, all in the City of Hamilton. The county was organized on January 1, 1856. The county was cut from parts Comanche, Bosque, and Lampasas counties as the 106th county. Hamilton County and city are named for James Hamilton. He was a diplomatic agent for President Lamar in the Republic of Texas and has a heroic tale of sacrifice associated with his legacy.
Hamilton County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners. One District Court Judge serves Hamilton, Bosque, and Comanche counties and One County Court Judge serves Hamilton County. One of the 45-degree skewed counties of central Texas, Hamilton is west of Waco, Texas and southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. The Lampasas River, the Leon River, and a fork of the Brazos River all cross through the county. The county center is 7.7 miles Northeast of Hamilton. The county is surrounded clockwise by Bosque, Coryell, Lampasas, Mills, Comanche, and Erath counties.
The area of the county is 836 square miles. It is 189 out of 254 in the state. It ranks 176 out of 254 in population in the state. It has a density of 9.8 persons per square mile making it 168 out of 254 in the state. Hamilton County has 53.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. United States Highway 84 crosses the extreme southern tip of the county from east to west, Coryell County to Mills County. United States Highway 281 enters from Erath County on the north and exits into the west corner of Coryell County on the south. The county is a diamond with a chimney on the north border. Hamilton is slightly south of center in the county. Hamilton is the county seat and the largest city. It is 35.2% of the county population.
Hamilton
Cranfills Gap
Evant
Hico
