The Putnam County Courthouse is a historic governmental building in downtown Ottawa,

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. A two-

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building,Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2.

St. Clair Shores St. Clair Shores is a suburban city bordering Lake St. Clair in Macomb County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It forms a part of the Metro Detroit area, and is located about northeast of downtown Detroit. Its population was 59,715 at the 2010 ...

: Somerset, 1999, 1182. located at 245 E. Main Street,Putnam County Court
, Putnam County Court, n.d. Accessed 2010-08-12. it was built in 1912 in the Beaux-Arts style of architecture.

Previous courthouses

The present courthouse is the fourth such structure to serve Putnam County. When the county was organized in 1834, the village of Kalida was designated the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

, and a wooden courthouse was built there. It only served the county for four years, being replaced by a larger brick courthouse and jail complex in 1838. This building remained in use for more than a quarter century, but it was ruined by a devastating fire on December 18, 1864. With no courthouse, discussion arose about moving the county seat to Ottawa, which was growing more steadily than Kalida and was served by a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

line, and which was located closer to the center of the county.Putnam County Clerk of Courts
, Putnam County Clerk of Courts, n.d. Accessed 2010-08-12. An election in 1866 resulted in the seat being moved to Ottawa, and the village paid $15,000 for the erection of a new courthouse.

Construction

Approximately forty years after the construction of the third courthouse, a movement grew for its replacement by a newer structure. After voters supported the construction of a new courthouse in a 1909 election, the county commissioners selected a Columbus architect, Frank Packard, to design the new building. Packard's design was a large Beaux-Arts structure, built on a stone

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with stone walls and a

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roof of

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, 2007. Accessed 2010-08-12. he made extensive use of

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, stained glass, and

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wood. The entire structure cost slightly less than $200,000 to complete.

Current usage

Today, the courthouse remains actively used by Putnam County's governmental officials. Cases in the Common Pleas Court are heard in Putnam County's main courtroom, located on the building's third floor. Other offices located in the courthouse include those of the county commissioners, the county auditor, the Clerk of Courts, the county engineer, and the county prosecutor. An annex is located at 336 E. Main Street, one

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

east of the courthouse.Local Rules of Court
Putnam County Court of Common Pleas, 2003-01-06, 11. Accessed 2010-08-12.

Recognition

In the early years of the twentieth century, as plans were being laid for the courthouse's construction, the building committee aimed to erect a structure that would be renowned in the year 2000. Their goal has succeeded: in the years since that time, careful maintenance has prevented deterioration, and no major changes have been made. Today, the courthouse is renowned as an architectural masterpiece; architectural historians have ranked it as the best Beaux-Arts courthouse anywhere in Ohio. The courthouse 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 ...

in 1974 because of its well preserved historic architecture, which was seen as significant statewide.

References

External links

Putnam CountyPutnam County Courts
{{NRHP in Putnam County, Ohio Government buildings completed in 1912 Beaux-Arts architecture in Ohio County courthouses in Ohio Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Putnam County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Putnam County, Ohio Frank Packard buildings 1912 establishments in Ohio