The Highland County Courthouse is located in
Hillsboro,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
. The courthouse was placed on the
National Register
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 ...
on August 24, 1978. This building has served as the courthouse of
Highland County since its opening in 1834 and is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in Ohio.
Gallery
File:HCC1.JPG, Veterans Memorial dedicated in 2012.
File:HCC2.JPG, Plaque dedicated to 93 Revolutionary War soldiers buried in Highland County. Unveiled on July 4, 1930.
File:HCC3.JPG, Plaque dedicated to Highland County War Bond Drive in World War I. Unveiled on May 31, 1919.
File:HCC4.JPG, Plaque dedicated to the oldest court house in Ohio. Unveiled on October 9, 1979.
File:HCC5.JPG, Highland County court house beautification project. Constructed in 1965.
File:HCC6.JPG, Monument dedicated to the unknown dead of the Civil War. Unveiled on November 28, 1908.
File:HCC7.JPG, Monument dedicated to the soldiers from Highland County who fought for the North in the Civil War. Unveiled on November 17, 1897.
History
Highland County was established in 1805 with special sessions of the courts meeting in
New Market New Market may refer to:
Bangladesh
*New Market, Dhaka
*New Market, Khulna, in Sonadanga Model Thana
*New Market, Chittagong, near Government City College, Chittagong
India
* New Market, Bhopal
*New Market, Kolkata
Jamaica
*New Market, Jama ...
. Plans for a courthouse were accepted in 1807, with John Shields having the winning entry. The structure was built in Hillsboro, the new county seat, and was a two-story brick building with a rectangular footprint. Lack of room and foundation problems led the county to plan a replacement.
This replacement was submitted by Pleasant Arthur and was an example of
Greek Revival architecture
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 ...
.
Exterior
The red brick structure was originally laid out in a long rectangular plan, but additions on either side were built in 1883. The front of the building has a central entrance with a
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
fanlight
A fanlight is a form of lunette window, often semicircular or semi-elliptical in shape, with glazing bars or tracery sets radiating out like an open fan. It is placed over another window or a doorway, and is sometimes hinged to a transom. Th ...
above the large wooden double doors. Windows to either side of the door are rectangular in shape and are located within a recessed arch. Above each window and the door are rectangular windows with a lantern hung above the entrance.
Ionic columns
The Ionic order is one of the three canonic orders of classical architecture, the other two being the Doric and the Corinthian. There are two lesser orders: the Tuscan (a plainer Doric), and the rich variant of Corinthian called the composite or ...
line the facade and support a
pediment
Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape.
Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds.
A pedimen ...
. A drum rises from the pitched roof and supports a lantern with arched vents and capped by a small dome. A weathervane tops the tower.
References
Further reading
*Thrane, Susan W., ''County Courthouses of Ohio'', Indiana University Press, Indianapolis, Indiana 2000
*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
External links
*
Ohio Travel website
{{National Register of Historic Places
Buildings and structures in Highland County, Ohio
National Register of Historic Places in Highland County, Ohio
County courthouses in Ohio
Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio
Federal architecture in Ohio
Government buildings completed in 1833
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 62
1833 establishments in Ohio
Hillsboro, Ohio