Hamilton County's third courthouse stands in Aurora after the county seat moved there from Orville City in 1876 following five elections. The first courthouse had been built in Orville City in 1870, and Aurora secured the county seat by constructing a second courthouse in Central Park Square in 1877. That building was destroyed by fire in January 1894. In March 1894, the county board hired architect William Gray of Lincoln, designer of several Nebraska courthouses, to prepare plans for a new building, and voters approved $60,000 in bonds for its construction and furnishing. Completed in 1895, the courthouse was built in the County Capitol Style, echoing the form of the U.S. Capitol but using a tall spire instead of a central dome and red brick with Colorado sandstone instead of marble. Its detailing follows American Round Arch designs made popular by Boston architect H. H. Richardson, and its impressive exterior and ornate white oak interior woodwork express the stability of county government. The building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.