The Scott County Courthouse is a government building in

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, 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 ...

of Scott County,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Completed in 1885, it is the third

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 the county's history. Scott County's first settlers arrived in 1820, one year after the Indians ceded the region to Americans.Wagner, Robert. ''National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Winchester Historic District''.

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

, 1976-06-02. A pair of local shopkeepers decided to start a town on Sandy Creek in 1830, and one of them chose to name it for his hometown,

Winchester, Kentucky Winchester is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 18,368 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winchester is located ro ...

. In 1839, the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

created Scott County out of a portion of Morgan County. Winchester became the county seat, as local residents offered to donate land and money for a courthouse and jail.Weiser, Dennis. ''Illinois courthouses: an illustrated history''.

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach is an independent city located on the southeastern coast of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 459,470 at the 2020 census. Although mostly suburban in character, it is the most populous city ...

: Donning, 2009, 136. The new county's officials operated out of temporary facilities for just two years before the first courthouse was completed. This square two-

story Story or stories may refer to: Common uses * Story, a narrative (an account of imaginary or real people and events) ** Short story, a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting * Story (American English), or storey (British ...

brick building served for forty-four years before the construction of the current courthouse. County officials chose the St. Louis firm of James Stewart to design their new courthouse in 1885, and William Buckingham was the

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

. When the building was completed, Scott County had spent approximately $35,500. The finished building is a two-story brick structure that rests on a stone

foundation Foundation may refer to: * Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization ** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S. ** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...

. Rather than conforming to a single

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 ...

, the courthouse combines elements of different styles to an exceptional degree; in 1977, an

Illinois Department of Conservation The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is the code department of the Illinois state government that operates the state parks and state recreation areas, enforces the fishing and game laws of Illinois, regulates Illinois coal mines, ...

historic preservation report remarked that the courthouse "is so uniquely eclectic as to defy categorization." Square sections with a single rounded-arch window on each story are placed on the building's corners, while the remaining portions of the sides feature several similar windows spaced closely together. A stone

stringcourse A belt course, also called a string course or sill course, is a continuous row or layer of stones or brick set in a wall. Set in line with window sills, it helps to make the horizontal line of the sills visually more prominent. Set between the fl ...

visually separates the stories. Above the entrance rises a three-story tower topped with an exceptional

onion dome An onion dome is a dome whose shape resembles an onion. Such domes are often larger in diameter than the tholobate upon which they sit, and their height usually exceeds their width. These bulbous structures taper smoothly to a point. It is a ty ...

. In 1917, the county converted the tower into a

clock tower Clock towers are a specific type of structure which house a turret clock and have one or more clock faces on the upper exterior walls. Many clock towers are freestanding structures but they can also adjoin or be located on top of another buildi ...

.Illinois Historic Sites Survey Inventory: Scott County Courthouse
.

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, n.d. In 1979, much of Winchester was designated a

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...

, the Winchester Historic District, and 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 ...

. The courthouse is the largest building within the district's boundaries, and also one of the most critical of the district's

contributing properties 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 distric ...

References

{{Illinois county courthouses Government buildings completed in 1885 Brick buildings and structures Buildings and structures in Scott County, Illinois Clock towers in Illinois County courthouses in Illinois Eclectic architecture