The Paulding County Courthouse is a historic governmental building in downtown Paulding,

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. A

Richardsonian Romanesque Richardsonian Romanesque is a architectural style, style of Romanesque Revival architecture named after the American architect Henry Hobson Richardson (1838–1886). The revivalism (architecture), revival style incorporates 11th- and 12th-century ...

building erected in 1886, it is the third

courthouse A courthouse or court house is a structure which houses judicial functions for a governmental entity such as a state, region, province, county, prefecture, regency, or similar governmental unit. A courthouse is home to one or more courtrooms, ...

to serve the residents of Paulding County.Owen, Lorrie K., ed. ''Dictionary of Ohio Historic Places''. Vol. 2. St. Clair Shores: Somerset, 1999, 1133. When Paulding County was established in 1820, the small community of Charloe was named the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

. This arrangement proved to be short-lived: the community of Paulding grew significantly while Charloe stagnated, and the county seat was eventually moved to the larger village. Once Paulding had been named the county seat, the county's second courthouse was erected on the village's central square in 1837. After approximately fifty years of service, this

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 (con ...

structure was demolished, and the present structure was built on the same location in 1886. Designed by the

E.O. Fallis Company Edward Oscar Fallis, often known as E.O. Fallis, was an American architect of Toledo, Ohio. A number of his works are listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Works include (with attribution): *First Church of Christ, Scientist ( ...

and built by workers under the direction of

general contractor A contractor (North American English) or builder (British English), is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the c ...

Rudolph Ehrhart, the courthouse is a brick structure with a stone foundation and a roof of asphalt.,

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

, 2007. Accessed 2010-08-10. Two-and-one-half stories tall with a central tower, the courthouse features nearly identical entrances on each of its four sides. Measuring square, and tall at the tip of its domed tower, the courthouse was patterned after the

Lenawee County Courthouse The Lenawee County Courthouse is a county courthouse located at 309 North Main Street ( M-52) in the city of Adrian in central Lenawee County, Michigan. It was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on November 14, 1974, and later added to the ...

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, which was also designed by the Fallis architects.Paulding County Courthouse

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, 2010. Accessed 2010-08-10. In 1974, the Paulding County Courthouse was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

, due to its well-preserved architecture that was deemed significant statewide. It is one of four buildings in Paulding County on the Register, along with a rural

round barn A round barn is a historic barn design that could be octagonal, polygonal, or circular in plan. Though round barns were not as popular as some other barn designs, their unique shape makes them noticeable. The years from 1880 to 1920 represent ...

, a former train station in the village of

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

, and the Carnegie library in Paulding.

References

{{NRHP in Paulding County, Ohio Government buildings completed in 1886 County courthouses in Ohio Courthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Buildings and structures in Paulding County, Ohio National Register of Historic Places in Paulding County, Ohio Richardsonian Romanesque architecture in Ohio