When the town site of Glen Rose was first surveyed in 1878, this courthouse square was an open cornfield. Town promoter Tyler Calhoun Jordan agreed to erect the first courthouse if locals would buy commercial lots surrounding the square, and he did construct a simple stone building. It burned in 1893, and in that year Somervell County taxpayers built the current replacement. Since that time this Late Victorian limestone structure has served as the seat of government for Somervell County and has been the visual anchor for the town square. When a tremendous tornado struck Glen Rose on April 28, 1902, destroying dozens of homes and killing six residents, it swept away the clock faces from the courthouse tower. The stone walls, however, withstood the winds. It was not until 1986, eighty-four years after the storm, that new clock faces returned to the tower. The historic courthouse is a public building so step inside during business hours and take a look.