The Auglaize County Courthouse is located between West Mechanic, Willipie, West Pearl and Perry Streets in downtown Wapakoneta,

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. Completed in 1894, it is 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 artist ...

History

Auglaize County Auglaize County () is a county in Northwestern Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 46,442. Its county seat is Wapakoneta. Auglaize County comprises the Wapakoneta Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also includ ...

was formed in 1848 and Wapakoneta was chosen by the voters as the county seat. This caused many bad feelings from St. Marys, the other choice for the county seat, as they had already planned an area for the courthouse along appropriately named Court Street. The county's first courthouse was the

Methodist Episcopal The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

church. A

frame A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent. Frame and FRAME may also refer to: Physical objects In building construction * Framing (co ...

building completed in 1834, it was used by the county in exchange for the free provision of a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

for the congregation.McMurray, William J., ed. ''History of Auglaize County Ohio''. Vol. 1. Indianapolis: Historical Publishing Company, 1923, 325. Until the county's first permanent courthouse was built in 1854, the courts rotated around the city's various churches, and the local government officials used rented rooms in buildings throughout Wapakoneta. The first purpose-built courthouse was a

Greek Revival The Greek Revival was an architectural movement which began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe and the United States and Canada, but a ...

style structure of red brick and white trim window and door frames. Two

Corinthian columns The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

framed the entrance and supported a pedimented roof above. A rectangular drum rose above the roof which contained corinthian column supports and was capped with a dome with a spire. A larger courthouse was needed and the county constructed a new courthouse in 1894. The courthouse was built with bonds authorized by the

Ohio General Assembly The Ohio General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Ohio. It consists of the 99-member Ohio House of Representatives and the 33-member Ohio Senate. Both houses of the General Assembly meet at the Ohio Statehouse in Columb ...

, but changes to the plans more than doubled the cost. Renovation subtly changed the interior, such as an elevator, but the courthouse remains true to its original plans.

Exterior

The current courthouse was constructed from 1893 to 1894 by the architectural firm Kremer & Hart. The building is built with local stone and has a rusticated base with smooth stone from the second floor up. The first floor has square windows in groups of three and blends into the second floor. The second floor is the main floor and is illuminated by large rectangular windows. The entrance is a projection on the eastern facade and is reached by a flight of stairs, three large arches support a balcony above. The balcony contains four Corinthian columns supporting the gabled roof above. The other entrances are also reached by a flight of stairs to a covered porch with supportive Corinthian columns and a balcony with a

balustrade A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its ...

. A

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

separates the second floor from the third. Large arched windows light the third floor with a decorative frieze beneath the roof. The roof rises at various points to support a square drum with a central octagonal tower with a balustrade surrounding the base. Large arched windows are surrounded by Corinthian pilasters that support a decorative frieze and a four-face clock facing the cardinal points. The tower is capped by a dome with a central spire. The tower was once graced with a statue of Justice overlooking the main entrance to the east. The community of St. Marys found this offensive, as they had the back of Justice to them and raised money to have her turned to the north. The statue was slowly deteriorating to a point where it had to be removed due to safety reasons. The only parts salvaged from the original Justice were the head, right hand, and sword. In 1994, in time for the centennial of the courthouse, the Auglaize County Historical Society raised money to restore the statue through a project called "Copper Pennies for a Copper Lady" which raised over $25,000. The statue now stands in the Great Hall facing north, holding a sword in her right hand and the balances of justice in her left. The base of the pedestal contains a time capsule to be opened in 2094, one item being the names of the donors for the restoration of the statue.

References

External links

Official county website
{{National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Auglaize County, Ohio Government buildings completed in 1894 County courthouses in Ohio Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Wapakoneta, Ohio Clock towers in Ohio 1894 establishments in Ohio

History

Exterior

References

Further reading

External links