The Third County Courthouse is an 1837 Greek Revival building at 302 Center Street in Historic Richmond Town, near the geographic center of Staten Island, New York. Preceded by two smaller

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 ...

s, it was the Richmond County Courthouse during most of the nineteenth century and was in use until 1919, when it was replaced by the Richmond County Courthouse in

St. George Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...

. The building is the oldest extant structure in New York City built primarily as a courthouse. A jail used to be adjacent. The building was the site of the sensational 1844 trial of Polly Bodine, who was accused of murdering her husband's sister and niece and setting fire to their house, a case commented on by Edgar Allan Poe and P. T. Barnum, among others. The packed trial resulted in a hung jury and then an early case of change of venue, first to Manhattan, which resulted in a conviction, later overturned, and then to Newburgh, New York, where Bodine was acquitted.Robert Pigott. ''New York's Legal Landmarks: A Guide to Legal Edifices, Institutions, Lore, History, and Curiosities on the City's Streets'', New York: Attorney Street Editions (2014), p. 170.

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* {{Authority control Government buildings completed in 1837 Courthouses in New York (state) Government buildings in Staten Island New York City Designated Landmarks in Staten Island Historic American Buildings Survey in New York City Historic Richmond Town Former courthouses in New York (state)

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