The First Hancock County Courthouse is a historic

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a building that is home to a local court of law and often the regional county government as well, although this is not the case in some larger cities. The term is common in North America. In most other English-spe ...

in Findlay, Ohio, United States. Built in 1833, it was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976. The building, as planned in December 1831, was designed to be a temporary structure for the county offices and court system. It was designed as a two- story building measuring 24 by 26 feet;Humphrey, William (1961). Findlay: The Story of a Community, p. 23. Findlay Publishing Company, Findlay, Ohio. it is a simple

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction *Framing (con ...

structure of no particular

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

. With the exception of the main entrance, the building's elements are purely functional: its shape is simply rectangular with no ornamental details, except for a decorative

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

and

sidelight A sidelight or sidelite in a building is a window, usually with a vertical emphasis, that flanks a door or a larger window. Sidelights are narrow, usually stationary and found immediately adjacent doorways.Barr, Peter.Illustrated Glossary, 19th ...

s framing the main entrance.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 1. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 754. It was originally erected in Findlay upon the southwest corner of Main and Putnam (Crawford) Streets. The contract to build the courthouse was awarded to Wilson Vance, Frederick Henderson, and Jonathion Parker in January 1832 for the sum of $700. Following construction, it was plastered by Parlee Carlin in the autumn of 1833. It was used until a second, more permanent courthouse was completed in 1842 on the southwest corner of Main and West Cross (the precursor to Findlay's current

). In addition to being an early courthouse, it also was utilized as both a schoolhouse and a church. After the building of a more permanent courthouse, the First Hancock County Courthouse was sold and moved to various locations throughout the city where it became a variety of hotels. It currently rests at 819 Park Street in Findlay. During Hancock County's

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

boom in the late nineteenth century, many property owners in the city modified their houses by the installation of natural gas central heating and lighting, but few buildings had previously experienced the benefits of natural gas. One of the few exceptions was the old courthouse — it was the first house in the city to have natural gas installed. In 1976, the First Hancock County Courthouse was listed on the

. It was the third building in Hancock County to be listed on the Register, following the Jasper G. Hull House and the current courthouse.

References

{{Registered Historic Places Government buildings completed in 1833 Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio County courthouses in Ohio Findlay, Ohio Buildings and structures in Hancock County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Hancock County, Ohio