Hillsdale County is named for the rolling terrain of the area.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Calhoun County and Jackson County
E – Lenawee County
S – Fulton County, Ohio and Williams County, Ohio
W – Steuben County, Indiana and Branch County
Created: October 29, 1829 
County Seat:
Jonesville 1835 – 1843
Hillsdale 1843 – present
County Courthouse – Hillsdale
Location: 29 North Howell Street / McCollum Street
Built: 1898– 1899
Style: Renaissance Revival
Architect: Claire Allen of Jackson
Contractor: Geake & Henry of Fort Wayne and C E Campbell ( superintendant of construction ).
Description: The building faces west and is a two story sandstone structure. The buildinding is located on the landscaped grounds of the Public Square in the center of Hillsdale. The building has a raised basement with rusticated masonry and a large portico with three arches on the first story, four Corinthian columns on the second story and a decorative pediment above. The upper two stories display pilasters with stylized Corinthian capitals. The end walls have projecting pediment-capped, central masses. On the center of the roof is a square clock tower rising to a round green colored copper sheathed dome with small cupola at the top. The clock tower contains a Seth Thomas clock with Menelly Westminster chimes. In the interior are intricate carvings, wooden wainscoting, marble floors and a central rotunda under the dome. The second story has high ceilings and contain the courtroom. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 1st Judicial District and County Probate Court. To the north is the two story County Courthouse Annex.
See: The architect, Claire Allen of Jackson, also designed courthouses in Gratiot County, Shiawassee County and Van Buren County.
County Courthouse Annex – Hillsdale
Location: 49 North Howell Street / McCollum Street
Built: 1859– 1860
Style: Neoclassical
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a two story limestone, brick concrete and glass structure. The building was constructed as the Waldron Block and became The Hillsdale Savings Bank in 1929 and then was occupied as the County Courthouse Annex. The building faces west and was completed in 1860. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Hillsdale. The main entry on the west side is decorated with a classical urn, scrolls, and granite doorway surround with rope molding. The rear elevation brick walls with segmental-arch second-story windows with brick caps and corbelled brick detailing below the cornice. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County District Court.
History: The county was created in 1829 and Osseo was selected as the first county seat in 1840 when the county was organized. The county seat was moved to Hillsdale in 1843 and the first courthouse was a frame structure erected in 1842, The second courthouse was a frame structure built by Cook and Ferris in 1844. The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1849. The third courthouse was a two story sandstone structure designed by Baldwin and Boles and built by McAdam & Stinson in 1851 at a cost of $6,250. The courthouse was torn down in 1899 when the fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1898 to 1899 at a cost of $45,000.
See: Michigan’s County Courthouses by John Fedynsky
County Courthouse – Hillsdale
Photos taken 2008