Hillsdale, Michigan, is the kind of tight-knit, orderly community I’d love to live in for six months until I was driven mad by the decorum. In fact, I almost had a chance fifteen years ago! The heart of Hillsdale is its downtown, which is celebrated for its historic charm, vibrant community spirit, and bustling events. It’s the nostalgic Main Street many of us think we remember, and a landmark courthouse sits in the middle of it all.
Hillsdale County was carved from neighboring Lenawee County in 18291. It might seem like the place has an oxymoronic moniker like Back to the Future’s Hill Valley, but the county takes its name from the area’s rolling terrain, “up hill and down dale2.”
Jonesville was established as the county seat two years after the county was formed. Nevertheless, residents of Hillsdale, platted closer to the center of the county, started clamoring for the courthouse. In a backhanded way of securing the county seat against the village, Jonesville boosters pushed for a new town, Osseo, to become the county seat.
An 1840 act made it so but stipulated that the county’s courts and offices would remain in Jonesboro until suitable replacements were built. The subterfuge was that, at three acres, Osseo was nowhere near large enough to host adequate government buildings. Just as planned, Jonesboro remained the county seat indefinitely3! Eventually, boosters in Hillsdale won out. In 1843, a law formally established the village as the county seat without specifying whether it was taking the title from Jonesboro or Osseo4. A temporary courthouse was quickly erected.
The first permanent courthouse in Hillsdale was a frame building that measured thirty feet wide by 50 feet long. It burned down in 1849 and was followed by a sandstone structure completed two years later. Known as the “Old Stone Pile5,” the second courthouse was a two-story, Greek Revival structure with four large columns that supported a massive pediment.
A squat, flat-roofed belfry sat over the building’s porch, flanked by two brick chimneys on each side of the roof6. To make the courthouse fireproof, the building’s interior walls were built of brick and iron7. Unfortunately, officials recognized that the Old Stone Pile was too cramped to adequately serve their needs by 1890.
Four votes took place over the next eight years, but residents finally approved $45,000 to build a new courthouse by a slim margin8. Commissioners hired Claire Allen, an architect from Jackson, to design the replacement. The building was completed in 1899 by Fort Wayne builders Geake and Henry. Two years later, Allen brazenly reused his design for the Van Buren County Courthouse in Paw Paw9!
The present Hillsdale County Courthouse is three stories and was built of sandstone like its predecessor. The building faces west from the middle of its unique, trapezoidal Shelbyville Square, and its primary entrance features an arcaded porch that supports a pedimented portico. The courthouse features a hipped copper roof, from which rises a three-story clock tower capped with a central, domed clock tower. Unfortunately, the belfry was bare until William Mitchell donated a Seth Thomas clock and four bells in 1911.
Inside, the building’s layout owes a lot to David Gibbs’ cross-axial designs in Eaton and Ionia10. Four county offices surround a central rotunda with unique carvings, wooden wainscoting, and marble floors. The second story features high ceilings, Corinthian pilasters, and the county courtroom11. An annex with additional offices sits across the street.
The courthouse and bells were restored in 1996, just in time for its centennial celebration in 1998. Nine years later, architect John Meyer was commissioned to design an addition to the eastern side of the building that included a new entrance, an elevator, and ADA-compliant restrooms12. A couple years ago, officials earmarked more than $5 million to repair the building’s roof and dome after inspectors noticed leaks after a tornado touched down nearby13.
Through continued support, the 130-year-old Hillsdale County Courthouse has seen its county seat grow from 3,900 people to more than 8,000 today. The place is primarily known for Hillsdale College, a private liberal arts college known for its conservative politics.
Hillsdale actually accepted me when I was in high school, and I got to tour the campus and audit a course on constitutional law. I often wonder how different my life would be if I’d completed my studies there! I’d have a much higher student loan payment, that’s for sure, but I also probably wouldn’t be working in a factory.
No matter how life unfolded, I’ve been glad to return to Hillsdale a few times since that first campus visit at eighteen. Each visit reaffirms the strong sense of community and unity that defines the area, making me yearn to live spend a week there— if only to have easy access to that incredible courthouse anytime I pleased!
TL;DR
Hillsdale County (pop. 45,546, 33/83)
Hillsdale (pop. 8,186)
Built: 1899
Cost: $45,000 ($1.6 million today)
Architect: Claire Allen
Style: Renaissance Revival
Courthouse Square: Shelbyville Square
Height: 100 feet
Current Use: County offices and courts
Photographed: 2/18/18
Sources Cited
1 Fedynsky, J. (2010). Michigan’s County Courthouses. The University of Michigan Press [Ann Arbor]. Book.
2 Cole, M. (1974). Michigan’s Courthouses Old And New. Maurice Cole [Oakland County]. Book.
3 History of Hillsdale County, Michigan, with Illustrations and Biographical Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers (1879). Everts & Abbott [Philadelphia]. Book.
4 (See footnote 3).
5 (See footnote 2).
6 Vincent, K. Courthouse History. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
7 Miller, J.P. (n.d.) Hillsdale, the County Seat (n.d.) Hillsdale County Historical Society [Hillsdale].Web. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
8 (See footnote 7).
9 Bishop, Eckert, K. (n.d.) Hillsdale County Courthouse. SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, [Charlottesville]. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
10 (See footnote 9).
11 Deacon, J. “Hillsdale County”. American Courthouses. 2008. Web. Retrieved 2/5/21.
12 Hillsdale, courthouse repair costs going up (2007, February 2). The Toledo Blade. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
13 Murray, C. (2022, September 10). Hillsdale County Courthouse renovations to exceed $5 million. The Hillsdale Daily News. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
I sometimes yearn for life in a small community where everyone knows everyone. But then I remember how I seem to thrive in the anonymity that a larger city offers.