The current Franklin County Courthouse in

Chambersburg, Pennsylvania Chambersburg is a borough in and the county seat of Franklin County, in the South Central region of Pennsylvania, United States. It is in the Cumberland Valley, which is part of the Great Appalachian Valley, and north of Maryland and the Mas ...

, built in 1865, is the third courthouse building on the site. The site was originally purchased from Colonel Benjamin Chambers in 1785. The current building replaced its predecessor that was burnt on July 30, 1864 by

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

forces under Brigadier General John A. McCausland in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. McCausland was acting under the orders of General Jubal A. Early. Early was commander of the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

, which was subject to much destruction by the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces. He was eager to retaliate against the North. Chambersburg deserved this retaliation, in his view, in part for its sympathy with

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

while planning his raid on Harpers Ferry. McCausland offered the people of Chambersburg the chance to ransom the town for $100,000 in gold or $500,000 in greenbacks. When they did not pay, he carried on with the destruction of the town, including the second courthouse. Only the walls and pillars remained after the burning. The current

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but ...

structure was designed by S. Hutton.Per NRIS. Or it was designed by S. Hutton and John A. Dempwolf, per Pennsylvania ARCH report on Franklin County Courthouse obtainable b
searching here upon "Franklin County Courthouse"
The construction was superintended by Samuel Seibert. They designed and built the structure around the remaining walls and columns left from the previous courthouse. It stands two and half stories high, and is built of brick. There are fifty-four windows, twenty-two on each side and five each front and back. It features a domed clock

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, from ...

with a statue of

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

on top. There are also six symmetrically placed chimneys on the roof. It was expanded in 1902 in the same architectural style. The courthouse is a

contributing property In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic distri ...

in the

Chambersburg Historic District Chambersburg Historic District is a national historic district centered on the Memorial Fountain and Square of Chambersburg in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. The district includes 159 contributing buildings in the central business district a ...

. ''Note:'' This includes Chambersburg is the largest Northern community that was burned in the Civil War. 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 1974. It is included in the

References

External links

* {{National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Government buildings completed in 1865 Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania County courthouses in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Franklin County, Pennsylvania Clock towers in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Franklin County, Pennsylvania Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Pennsylvania

See also

References

External links