Beautiful Rural Court Houses
The upside of slow growth is many grand old courthouses survived in rural towns
If there is an upside to population decline it might be that grand old buildings like many of the courthouses built in the late 1800s & early 1900s have survived with little to no alterations.
The city I grew up in had a grand old victorian courthouse until the 1960s, when the county’s growing population made the old dame functional obsolete to some. It was replaced by a Brutalist rectangle of a building before I was even born, but even today the old courthouse is lamented by long-time residents.
Rural counties facing population stagnation or decline are often forced to make due with what they have and keep these old building functional and in shape. While I’m sure the I.T. department is less than thrilled about finding new ways to run ethernet cable through plaster ceilings and limestone walls, those of us who come from more urban areas that have had their historic buildings razed can’t help but gawk at.
Below is small collection of some of the courthouses I've photographed over the years.
Old Logan County Courthouse, Illinois
In some rare cases old courthouses were saved long before preservationism was a big thing. Illinois’ Logan County courthouse, as many residents may know, is in the town Lincoln. However the former county courthouse built in 1848 still stands in Mt. Pulaski, despite the county seat being moved from there to Lincoln in 1855. Abraham Lincoln actually argued many cases here in the second-floor courtroom.
After the move the community made the building their town hall, a school, and a post office at times before the state purchased it in 1935 and began restoration. Today the building is open for tours and is on the National Register of Historic Places. You can find more about it here.
Thomas County Courthouse, Kansas
Gibson County Courthouse, Indiana
Lampasas County Courthouse, Texas
Todd County Courthouse, Kentucky
Hampshire County Courthouse, West Virginia
Wheeler County Courthouse, Texas
Old Warren County Courthouse, Mississippi
Another old courthouse that was saved after a new building was constructed in 1939. This courthouse from 1858, not only managed to dodge the wrecking ball of modernization, but survived the Civil War. It too is now a museum and more info can be found about Vicksburg’s old courthouse here.
Grayson County Courthouse, Kentucky
Carroll County Courthouse, Illinois
Carroll County Courthouse in Mt. Carroll, Illinois has a feature that almost instantly teleports you back in time. Yes, the building itself is old and that helps, but look on the north side of the courthouse and you will see a wrought-iron cage that is used to house inmates in between trials when the courthouse has limited capacity inside.
Sure it looks antiquated and you’ll assume hasn’t been used for some time. At least until you read the warning notice dated 1999.
Todd County Courthouse, Kentucky
Jones County Courthouse, Texas
Clinton County Courthouse, Iowa
Gibson County Courthouse, Indiana
Columbiana County Courthouse, Ohio
Even in some of the most remote rural towns, being the county seat has afforded a lifeline to the businesses around the courthouse and town square. Yet, in towns like Lisbon, Ohio storefronts in prime real estate locations sit empty with “for sale” or “for rent” signs that have become weather faded.
Huntington County Courthouse, Indiana
Wyandot County Courthouse, Ohio
