Chillicothe-based Stuckey used tan glazed brick for the Georgian Revival scheme, one of the largest county courthouses of the time at three stories on a raised basement, and one of the earliest in a classical mode, termed “Texas Renaissance” by architectural historian Willard B. Robinson. The awkwardly proportioned blocky mass is accentuated with a rock-faced Indiana limestone raised basement, stringcourses, lintels, porticos, and a pediment on the west facade. The hipped roof is crowned with an octagonal cupola with a segmental dome and large round finial. Cornices, pediments, and cupola are constructed of formed sheet metal painted to match the limestone below.
Rockwell H. Stuckey (1855–1936) was born in Indiana, moved to Mexia in Limestone County c. 1880 (returning there to build the courthouse in 1924), and settled in Chillicothe in 1898. Apparently self-taught in architecture, he established a successful practice designing houses, churches, and three county courthouses, this one and those in Foard and Limestone counties. The courthouse was rehabilitated with funding from the Texas Historic Courthouse Preservation Program.