Founded in 1805 by Judge Phillip Church, Angelica was named for his mother, Angelica Schuyler Church, a sister-in-law of Alexander Hamilton. Judge Church designed the Park Circle with public buildings on the perimeter and the Town Park in the center. Angelica served as the County Seat from 1806 until 1859, when it moved to Belmont. Court cases were heard there until the late 1890s. The first County Courthouse, built in 1819, still stands and serves as a centerpiece of the Angelica Park Circle Historic District, listed in the National Register of Historic Places on January 31, 1978.