Former Courthouses
The following other old courthouses still standing today exist as museums, for other government functions, or are now privately owned facilities.
| Courthouse | Photo | Location | Built | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Former Queen Anne County Courthouse | Maryland | 1708 | Built in 1708, it is likely the oldest courthouse still standing in the United States. Today the property is open as a museum. | |
| Old Chester Courthouse | Pennsylvania | 1724 | This is the oldest public building in continuous use in the United States. It is a handsome structure and a well preserved and valuable example of a colonial period stone courthouse. From 1724 until 1786, it served as the courthouse for Chester County, Pennsylvania and, after a county division, the courthouse for Delaware County, Pennsylvania until the county seat was relocated in 1851. Thereafter is served as the town hall for the City of Chester, Pennsylvania until the 1960s. Today it is used for miscellaneous city, county and civic functions. Colonists assembled here for the Havana raid during the War of Jenkins' Ear. The courthouse was a scene of the reading of the Declaration of Independence following its announcement in Philadelphia and the court's bell, which is still in its cupola, rang to announce independence. Several prominent legal and political figures argued at the court, including Thomas McKean, signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette was hosted and honored here. It was the site of the tragedy story of the trial and hanging of Elizabeth (Harriot) Wilson and the resulting story of the Pennsylvania Hermit, William (Amos) Wilson. | |
| Old Essex County Courthouse | Virginia | 1729 | ||
| Old Northampton County Courthouse | Virginia | 1731 | ||
| New Castle County Court House | Delaware | 1732 | This building was built over the remains of Delaware's first courthouse (1689) that was burnt by an arsonist and of which the foundation is still visible. It served as the county courthouse until 1881 when the county seat was moved to Wilmington, Delaware. The building was the center of the twelve mile circle that forms part of the boundary between Delaware and Pennsylvania. Today it is a museum. | |
| Cahokia Courthouse | Illinois | ca. 1740 | This structure was erected as a private residence circa 1740 when the area was French territory. In 1793, the residence was purchased by the federal government to function as the court for the United States Northwest Territory. It also hosted territorial government activities. It is Illinois's oldest courthouse and the only surviving territorial court. The courthouse is architecturally significant as an example of the French Colonial vertical log poteaux-sur-solle (“post-on-sill”) construction technique. | |
| Old Middlesex County Courthouse | Virginia | 1745 | ||
| Plymouth Courthouse | Massachusetts | 1749 | Built of wood, it served as a courthouse until 1820. It also served local municipal uses from 1749 until the 1950s. It was opened as a museum in 1970. | |
| Old Isle of Wight County Courthouse | Virginia | 1750s | ||
| Old Lincoln County Courthouse | Maine | 1761 | Judges and lawyers who served or appeared here include Robert Treat Paine, Benedict Arnold, William Cushing, and James Sullivan. Today it is a museum. | |
| Old Gloucester County Courthouse | Virginia | 1766 | ||
| Williamsburg-James City County Courthouse | Virginia | 1771 | ||
| Olde Colonial Courthouse | Massachusetts | 1772 | Built of wood, court proceedings of the King's Court were interrupted in 1774 by James Otis, Samuel Adams and 1,500 other protestors opposed to the King's Bill of Attainder that denied the right of colonists to a jury trial. As a result, the King's judge decided to cease holding cases. It served as a state courthouse until 1838. This courthouse in now a museum and hosts the "Tales of Cape Cod" that aids the local tourist industry. | |
| Old Grafton County Courthouse | New Hampshire | 1774 | Built in 1774, this building was the site of Daniel Webster's first criminal case in 1805 and served as a courthouse until 1823. It thereafter served as a public library for many years and is now maintained as a museum. | |
| Old West Liberty Courthouse | West Virginia | 1778-79 | ||
| Bedford Courthouse | New York | 1787 | Today this is open as a museum. | |
| Hardy County Courthouse | West Virginia | 1792 | Built in 1792, it served as a courthouse until 1860 and is now a luxury apartment building. | |
| Old Hunterdon County Courthouse | New Jersey | 1793 | Struck by fire likely caused by arson in 1828, it was heavily rebuilt using and incorporating the original walls. The courthouse was the scene of the trial of Bruno Hauptmann, the man convicted in the Lindbergh kidnapping case in what became coined as "The Crime of the Century" and "The Trial of the Century" in popular media and folklore at the time. Today it is open for tours including regular re-enactments of the Hauptmann trial and for ceremonial purposes. | |
| Old Carteret County Courthouse | North Carolina | 1796 | This is the oldest surviving wooden courthouse in North Carolina. Today it serves as a museum and hosts an interactive dramatization program that allows school children to conduct mock trials and reenactments for famous trials for educational purposes. | |
| Old Greene County Courthouse | Pennsylvania | 1796 | This structure, now a museum, shows a good example of an early wooden log cabin courthouse. | |
| Old Fairfax County Courthouse | Virginia | 1799 | ||
| Old Russell County Courthouse | Virginia | 1799 | ||
| The Cabildo | Louisiana | 1799 | The Cabildo in New Orleans was built between 1795-99 as the home of the Spanish municipal government after the original Cabildo was destroyed in the Great New Orleans Fire. The building took its name from the colonial governing body, the "Illustrious Cabildo," or city council. The Cabildo was the site of the Louisiana Purchase transfer ceremonies in 1803, and continued to be used by the New Orleans city council until the mid-1850s. The building's main hall, the Sala Capitular ("Capitol Room"), was originally utilized as a courtroom. The Spanish used the courtroom from 1799-1803, and from 1803-1812, it was used by the Louisiana territorial superior court. After the American Civil War, it was the home of the Louisiana Supreme Court from 1868-1910. The Sala Capitular was the site of several landmark court cases, including Plessy v. Ferguson. In 1911 the Cabildo became the home of the Louisiana State Museum. |
Read more about this topic: List Of The Oldest Courthouses In The United States