 In 1855 the records were stored in the cabin of Commissioner Samuel McPhail; the first court hearings were held in that cabin, and a one-story courthouse and jail was built in Caledonia in 1857.A two-story building was built in Caledonia in 1867, and several referenda made Caledonia the county seat by 1874.From that point on, Caledonia prospered and Houston slowly declined.