Phillips County is named for William Phillips, who was a free-state martyr, murdered September 1, 1856, in Leavenworth.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Harlan County, Nebraska and Furnas County, Nebraska
E – Smith County
S – Rooks County and Graham County
W – Norton County
Created: February 26, 1867 
County Seat:
Phillipsburg 1872 – present
County Courthouse – Phillipsburg
Location: 301 State Street / 3rd Street
Built: 1912 – 1913
Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: R A Curtis ( Curtis Engineering Company )
Contractor: Cuthbert & Sons
Description: The building faces north and is a three story white colored stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Phillipsburg. On each of the four sides of the building are projecting center sections with two large columns rising from the second to third story, a clock and curved hood at the roof line. The main entrance is on the north side. The first story has horizontal white colored stone. A cornice runs along the flat roof line. In the interior there is a skylight on ththird story. The County Distric Court courtroom is located on the south side of the third story. The building houses the County District Court of the 17th Judicial District.
See: The contractor, Cuthbert & Sons, constructed courthouses in Jackson County, Ness County, Rice County and Rooks County.
See: The 17th Judicial District includes Decatur County, Graham County, Norton County, Osborne County and Smith County.
History: The county was created in 1867 and Phillipsburg was selected as the county seat in 1872 when the county was organized. In 1874, the first courthouse was a frame structure rented from William Bissell located on the northeast side of the public square. The second courthouse was a two story frame building rented from Michael Beckley. In 1878, the county purchased a frame building from Fred A Dutton as the third courthouse. The fourth courthouse was a two story brick structure donated by the town in 1880 to the county. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1912 to 1913 at a cost 0f $66,110.
County Courthouse – Phillipsburg
Photos taken 2007 and 2010