Tag: courthouses

Jackson County Courthouse – McKee, Ky.

Believe it or not, this was not the first time I’ve been to McKee. It’s a quaint little town, but something seemed different this time. Then I realized that the building you can see in the background on the right is brand new. It appears to me to be a new courthouse building, and the last time I was here I’m pretty sure it was a parking lot.
Much has changed since I was here two years ago. At that time, the courthouse contained the Ten Commandments (which have since been removed following a federal lawsuit), and the proceedings were overseen by Judge R. Cletus Maricle (who was recently arrested by the FBI for some alleged RICO violations).
The courthouse you see here was built in 1950.

BONUS PIC FOR PETER – As mentioned above, McKee was most recently in the news when the Ten Commandments were removed from the courthouse after a federal lawsuit was filed. As a result, the Ten Commandments are EVERYWHERE in Jackson County, including this monument on private property just off the courthouse square.

Estill County Courthouse – Irvine, Ky.

So…yeah….that’s the Estill County Courthouse. A little bit of a disappointment I think, but I know it won’t be the last disappointing courthouse that I see. I don’t know much about this building, except that the cornerstone says that it was built in 1939 but the sign in front of the building says 1941. Either way, it looks like a lot of the public buildings I’ve seen from that time period (think Erickson Hall at UK).

The best part about visiting the Estill County Courthouse was the drive. The road from Winchester to Irvine is awesome. It’s the first during this project that I’ve really felt like I was in the mountains.

Clark County Courthouse – Winchester, Ky.


I think it’s interesting that I’ve been in Winchester a handful of times, and never really went downtown. It’s a very lively downtown area, with tons of active businesses and some really interesting architecture. Most of the buildings seem pretty well preserved, and a couple were undergoing some extensive renovations. I was really impressed by not only how big downtown Winchester is, but by how busy it was.
Not to mention that the drive from Lexington to Winchester is among the prettiest I’ve been on yet. It’s like something out of a horse country theme park – if such a park were to exist.
Anyway, this courthouse building is massive. The oldest part of it was completed in 1855, costing $40,000. The clock tower was put in in 1889, and the back part of it that you can’t see in this picture was built in 1938. The coolest part about the addition though, is that it perfectly matches the and mirrors the front you see here. Based on some of the other courthouse expansions I’ve seen, this one is pretty stellar.

BONUS PIC FOR PETER – This appears to be a courthouse annex or “judicial center” in Clark County. I thought Peter would like this one, because it’s not your typical annex. This building was built by the Federal Government in 1912 and was used as a post office for almost 90 years.

Nelson County Courthouse – Bardstown, Ky.

I didn’t know this before, but Bardstown is the second-oldest city in the Commonwealth, having been settled in 1780. As was already mentioned by Peter in a previous post, Nelson County’s Old Courthouse sits in a roundabout at the center of downtown, and the current “justice center” has been built closer to the BG. Currently, the old courthouse functions as the visitors’ center. When I first came into town and was trying to navigate the roundabout, I thought Peter had to have been mistaken about this building being the courthouse, because from almost any angle it looks like a church. But it is in fact the old courthouse.
Bardstown was the first place I’d visited that had a ton of tourists, and they were everywhere. But I guess there’s a lot to see here with the Old Talbott Tavern, a ton of bourbon distilleries, Federal Hill and the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral – at one time the center of the Catholic Church from the Allegheny Mountains to the Mississippi River.

Washington County Courthouse – Springfield, Ky.


The Washington County Courthouse was the second courthouse I saw today that was undergoing some historic preservation. Additionally, the 1816 date on the front of the building would make this the oldest courthouse I’ve yet seen. Much like the rest of the state, Springfield is pretty Lincoln obsessed, being that his parents were married here, he lived here when he was younger, etc. I only wish that Springfield had won the contest on “The Simpsons” a few years ago to become the official Simpsons hometown. I mean, it’s already right next door to a Shelbyville. It makes perfect sense.


BONUS PIC FOR PETER – I’ve decided that I’m only going to post pictures of the current “judicial centers” that now serve as county courthouses if they contain something notable. I really liked the new Washington County Judicial Center, particularly this Lincoln statute. So there you go.

Marion County Courthouse – Lebanon, Ky.


After visiting Lebanon for the first time, I know two things – first, this town loves ham, and secondly, John Hunt Morgan is all over the place here. I thought the famous Kentucky Confederate calvary officer and general was well represented in Lexington, buy Lebanon is another story. And I guess that makes sense, because Morgan burned much of the town during the Civil War, and according to the historic markers, he was also responsible for the burning of the courthouse that used to stand on this spot. His goal was to destroy treason indictments in the courthouse issued against his men. This courthouse was built in 1935.
Apparently Lebanon was a bustling railroad town, until the Civil War, and later the end of the railroad age brought it the quiet status it enjoys today. Oh, and it’s annual town festival is called “Ham Days.” Seriously. Like I said, this town loves its country ham.


BONUS PIC FOR PETER – Now this is the coolest thing about Lebanon’s courthouse. What you see above is the courthouse square. These buildings, several of which are occupied by the offices of attorneys and engineers, literally sit on the courthouse lawn, with just this little sidewalk separating them. While several of them have clearly been well maintained, a couple could use some work. One of the buildings on the square had a big hole in the door, and a couple of cats were hanging out inside sunning themselves.

Boyle County Courthouse – Danville, Ky.


Ah Boyle County. One of my favorite places on earth. I spent 4 years here in Danville and I think it’s what really cemented my love of small-town Kentucky.
I love the Boyle County Courthouse mostly for what you cannot see in this picture. The courthouse square is pretty large, and the building is L-shaped, with the doors and cupola pictured here at one end of the L. When Peter and I visited here earlier in the summer, he commented about how strange this makes the courthouse look. It’s not the standard square or symmetrical building you see in any other county in the state, and for that I love it.
Anyway, this present courthouse was built in 1862, and according to historic markers, it served as a hospital during the Civil War.

Mercer County Courthouse – Harrodsburg, Ky.


UPDATE: apparently the “massive historic preservation” I spoke of in this post isn’t historic preservation at all. According to the Herald Leader’s recent courthouse series this building is being torn down and replaced. Really, really sad.

I apologize for my lack of any photo editing software to lighten this one up a bit (one thing I miss about working for the paper is the access to cool photo software) but I just had to choose this picture of the Mercer County Courthouse. Mercer is one of two courthouses I saw today that appears to be undergoing massive historic preservation, and the effect created by the absence of the clock in the clock tower was pretty cool.
I have to be honest here – Harrodsburg is one of my favorite little communities in central Kentucky, mostly because I spent some time here during an internship with the local paper during my senior year at Centre. Harrodsburg has a combination of all of my favorite elements – well-maintained buildings, tons of history and friendly people. In addition, Harrodsburg seems to have a very active historical society, judging from the wealth of historic markers and tour guideposts throughout. Anyway, the present courthouse is the fourth to occupy the spot, and it was built in 1928.


BONUS PIC FOR PETER – One thing that I hate to see in any downtown area is the giant hole that develops when a building is taken down in a row of buildings. With historic commercial blocks you always get that great line of buildings with different heights and styles, and when one gets knocked down, it tends to look like someone knocked out a tooth from a beautiful smile. These buildings usually make way for parking lots, and when one building comes down, sometimes the whole block starts to deteriorate – think Rosenburg Block in Lexington. Anyway, Harrodsburg’s got the right idea here. This park sits in the middle of a block between two buildings. Pretty cool.

Scott County Courthouse – Georgetown, Ky.


I was feeling a little sleepy today, so my trip to Georgetown was my only stop. This was not the first time I’ve seen the Scott County Courthouse, and its still pretty amazing. I like how much the courthouse is clearly built to be viewed from the front. With the statute of justice and the way in which the tower is pushed towards the front makes it pretty unique, I think. According to Wikipedia, this is the fourth courthouse on this spot, the land for which was first donated by Elijah Craig. The style is apparently “Second Empire” – named after the Second French Empire, most notable for the mansard roof style that is so apparent here on the courthouse up by lady justice. The total cost of this beautiful building back in 1877? – $34,600,