Noble County was formed by the General Assembly in 1836 and named for James Noble, Indiana’s first U.S. Senator. Its county seats were Sparta in 1836, Augusta in 1837, and Port Mitchell in 1844. The center later named Albion was selected in 1846 as the county seat in a runoff election. The arrival of the railroad in 1874 brought prosperity and major construction on the courthouse square circa 1880–1890. The first courthouse, built in 1847, was destroyed by fire and replaced in 1860 by a two-story brick structure. The present courthouse, the third on the site, was built in 1887–1889 in Richardsonian Romanesque style of brick and limestone. It was designed by E. O. Fallis Co. of Toledo, Ohio, and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.