Delaware County Courthouse (Ohio)
Encyclopedia
The Delaware County Courthouse is located at 91 North Sandusky Street in Delaware
, Ohio
. The courthouse was placed on the National Register
.
was established in 1807 by an act of the Ohio General Assembly
. The county seat was placed at Berkshire
until 1808 when Delaware was founded and successfully petitioned to be the county seat. The courts met in various locations until a courthouse was built in 1815. The building cost the county $8,000 and was a simple one story building. The building contained fire walls
to protect the structure from burning, but a fire struck the building towards the end of the 1800s forcing the county to rent a different location.
A new courthouse was chosen and planned in 1868 in the Italianate style and designed by Robert N. Jones. The courthouse cost the county $80,000 to build. In 1996, the county renovated the courthouse for six months at a cost of $500 million.
The county is faced with a growing population and plans have been received for a new Justice Complex. The plans have sparked much debate in the county as plans may call to demolish the current courthouse to begin construction.
. The door sits in a recessed alcove and is contained within an arch faced with stone blocks. A window above contains two thin arched windows within an arched recess. To either side of the projection are two arched windows, the lower windows being shorter with squat arches and the top floor containing longer fully arched windows. Each window is surrounded by decorative stone casings
. The hipped roof
rises to a central square drum supporting a dome topped by a statue of Justice
. A wrought iron railing runs around the drum and arched windows light the floors below.
Delaware, Ohio
The City of Delaware is a city in and the county seat of Delaware County in the United States state of Ohio. Delaware was founded in 1808 and was incorporated in 1816. It is located near the center of Ohio, is about north of Columbus, and is part of the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Area...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. The courthouse was placed on the National Register
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
History
Delaware CountyDelaware County, Ohio
Delaware County is a fast-growing suburban county in the state of Ohio, United States, within the Columbus, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the United States Census Bureau's 2004 population estimates, Delaware County's population of 142,503 made it the fastest growing county in...
was established in 1807 by an act of the Ohio General Assembly
Ohio General Assembly
The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate...
. The county seat was placed at Berkshire
Berkshire Township, Delaware County, Ohio
Berkshire Township is one of the eighteen townships of Delaware County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 2,251 people in the township, 1,946 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
until 1808 when Delaware was founded and successfully petitioned to be the county seat. The courts met in various locations until a courthouse was built in 1815. The building cost the county $8,000 and was a simple one story building. The building contained fire walls
Firewall (construction)
A firewall is a fireproof barrier used to prevent the spread of fire between or through buildings, structures, electrical substation transformers, or within an aircraft or vehicle.- Applications :...
to protect the structure from burning, but a fire struck the building towards the end of the 1800s forcing the county to rent a different location.
A new courthouse was chosen and planned in 1868 in the Italianate style and designed by Robert N. Jones. The courthouse cost the county $80,000 to build. In 1996, the county renovated the courthouse for six months at a cost of $500 million.
The county is faced with a growing population and plans have been received for a new Justice Complex. The plans have sparked much debate in the county as plans may call to demolish the current courthouse to begin construction.
Exterior
The square two-story structure is built of red bricks. The main facade contains a central projection capped with a pedimentPediment
A pediment is a classical architectural element consisting of the triangular section found above the horizontal structure , typically supported by columns. The gable end of the pediment is surrounded by the cornice moulding...
. The door sits in a recessed alcove and is contained within an arch faced with stone blocks. A window above contains two thin arched windows within an arched recess. To either side of the projection are two arched windows, the lower windows being shorter with squat arches and the top floor containing longer fully arched windows. Each window is surrounded by decorative stone casings
Molding (decorative)
Molding or moulding is a strip of material with various profiles used to cover transitions between surfaces or for decoration. It is traditionally made from solid milled wood or plaster but may be made from plastic or reformed wood...
. The hipped roof
Hip roof
A hip roof, or hipped roof, is a type of roof where all sides slope downwards to the walls, usually with a fairly gentle slope. Thus it is a house with no gables or other vertical sides to the roof. A square hip roof is shaped like a pyramid. Hip roofs on the houses could have two triangular side...
rises to a central square drum supporting a dome topped by a statue of Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
. A wrought iron railing runs around the drum and arched windows light the floors below.
Further reading
- Thrane, Susan W., County Courthouses of Ohio, Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana 2000 ISBN 0-253-33778-8
- Marzulli, Lawrence J., The Development of Ohio's Counties and Their Historic Courthouses, Gray Printing Company, Fostoria, Ohio 1983
- Stebbins, Clair, Ohio's Court Houses, Ohio State Bar Association, Columbus, Ohio 1980