Our picture of the week is the Clark County Courthouse, in Kentucky, which is situated on Main Street in the county seat of Winchester. This courthouse was constructed in 1855 in the Greek Revival style and was designed by architect John McMurty. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974, and unlike many of the historic courthouses we have featured on In Custodia Legis, it is still in use for judicial functions.
I checked the Library’s historical newspaper database, Chronicling America, to see if I could find any mentions of the courthouse. In addition to the usual marital and probate announcements that serve as reminders of the central role that courthouses play in their communities, I found this report from 1885 that declared that the Clark County Courthouse was tumbling down. This seems premature, since the courthouse is still standing 136 years later.
Finally, although it is not strictly related to the Clark County Courthouse, I enjoyed the slogan from this judicial campaign ad from neighboring Montgomery County, Kentucky, that I came across during my research.
Do you have a favorite historic courthouse? Let us know in the comments.
Comments (5)
Caddo Parish Courthouse, Louisiana
Built in 1926
National Register of Historic Places
http://www.caddo.org/209/Historic-Courthouse
Thanks. The ceilings in that courthouse are really ornate.
Santa Barbara County Courthouse, California
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Barbara_County_Courthouse
Did Mr. White get elected? Lol
Hi Derrick. I’m not certain, but it doesn’t look like he won this election. Here’s W.B. White making an appearance as an attorney in 1916. https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn86069675/1916-05-09/ed-1/seq-5/#date1=1915&sort=relevance&rows=20&words=B+W+White&searchType=basic&sequence=0&index=18&state=Kentucky&date2=1916&proxtext=W.B.+White&y=17&x=7&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=2