Bell County was chartered January 22, 1850 and named for the newly elected governor, Peter Hansborough Bell. Belton, now the county seat, was first a village called Nolanville and the name "Belton" was adopted April 22, 1852. Settlement and development of Bell County was a part of the Mexican grant to the Moses Austin Colony with settlers making their way up the Brazos River from the coast and following the Little River and Leon River. Some towns in Bell County include Temple, Belton, Killeen, Salado, Rogers, Troy, Little River-Academy, and Holland.