Seneca County Courthouse Complex at Ovid, also known as the "Three Bears," 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 ...

complex located at

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Seneca County, New York Seneca County is located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,814. The county seat is Waterloo. It became a one county in 1822, which currently remains in effect and uses one locations as county seats a ...

. The 1845 courthouse, known as "Papa Bear," is a -story, three-by-four-bay, Neoclassical brick structure with a monumental frame

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 ...

portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...

supported by four

Doric order The Doric order was one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of col ...

columns and topped by a

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 ...

. The "Old" Clerk's Office, known as "Mama Bear," was also constructed in 1845 and is similar in design and construction. The "New" Clerk's Office, known as "Baby Bear," was constructed about 1860 and is also of the same, simple Doric design.''See also:'' 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.

References

External links

Waterloo and Ovid Court Houses, Seneca County, NY USGenWeb Project Site
Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) County courthouses in New York (state) Buildings and structures in Seneca County, New York National Register of Historic Places in Seneca County, New York Former courthouses in New York (state) {{SenecaCountyNY-NRHP-stub