....my hometown is Eldora and I live most of my life one block south of the courthouse square. Hearing the bells of the courthouse on the hour, gazing daily from our windows at the clock and bell tower, seeing my great-great grandfather's name on the Civil War Memorial, and enjoying the unique history of the building (it's bell tower caught fire while the opera house burned across the street when a bird carried hot embers...it was saved by the hook and ladder company of boys who were residents of the training school and a fire design where the bell tower nears the roof line of the courthouse itself), your website brings back fond memories. Did you see the restored Civil War cannon on the courthouse grounds? It has a great history too. Did you notice on the arched windows on the west and east sides have the Great Seal of Iowa etched into them? (Jason Follett: January 7, 2009) I spent many happy hours in and around the Hardin County Courthouse. My uncle was Hardin County sheriff in the 60s and 70s. I remember Santa Clause arriving each December and watching from the second floor balcony as kids streamed by to get a small bag of goodies from Santa standing next to a Christmas tree on the ground floor of the courthouse. The Civil War Memorial and old cannon fostered visions of history and people long past. On hot, summer nights I would lay awake in the sweltering heat..unable to sleep...and listen as the courthouse clock struck the hour long into the night. ... (Wayne McCormick: March 2, 2009)