Old Courthouse in St. Louis, MO – Pic of the Week

On my recent trip to St. Louis, Missouri, I could not resist visiting the beautiful Old Courthouse. In 1816, Auguste Chouteau and Judge John B.C. Lucas donated land to St. Louis County which, according to the deed, was to be “used forever as the site on which the courthouse of the County of St. Louis should be erected.” Construction for the original building was completed in 1828. The current Greek Revival style courthouse was constructed between 1839 and 1862. The original building was incorporated as the east wing. It served as a state and federal courthouse until 1930. In 1932, descendants of the Chouteau and Lucas families filed a lawsuit that claimed that the building and its property should revert back to them as it was no longer used for its original purpose. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled against them, because it held that the deed contained no provision for forfeiture that would imply a right of re-entry.