Defiance County Courthouse facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Defiance County Courthouse |
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The Defiance County Courthouse
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| General information | |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| Town or city | Defiance, Ohio |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 41°17′12″N 84°21′41″W / 41.28667°N 84.36139°W |
| Construction started | 1871 |
| Completed | 1873 |
| Cost | $72,000 |
| Client | Defiance County Commissioners |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | J.C. Johnson |
| Engineer | J.C. Johnson |
The Defiance County Courthouse is a historic building located at 221 Clinton Street in Defiance, Ohio. It's where important county decisions are made and where local government offices are located.
Contents
History of the Courthouse
How Defiance County Started
Defiance County was created in 1845. Before that, the area was part of Williams County. The main town, or "county seat," for Williams County was Defiance. But as Williams County got smaller, Defiance was no longer in the middle of it. So, the county seat moved to Bryan.
This change could have been bad for Defiance. But luckily, the population around Defiance grew enough to form a new county. On March 4, 1845, a law was passed to create Defiance County, and Defiance became its county seat. Everyone celebrated on March 13 with speeches, bonfires, and big dinners!
The First Courthouse
At first, the county courts met in a brick schoolhouse. But soon, work began on the first official courthouse in October 1845. This building was designed by John Bostata and was built where the current courthouse stands today.
It was a two-story brick building. It had a front porch, called a portico, with four columns holding up a triangular top. The building had many rectangular windows and decorative pillars on its sides. A square tower with a dome and a spire sat on top of the roof. This first courthouse was built in the Federal style of architecture.
Building the Current Courthouse
The first courthouse served the county until 1870. As the population kept growing, the building became too small. A new, bigger courthouse was clearly needed.
The county chose plans from an architect named J.C. Johnson. He designed the new courthouse in the Italianate and Second Empire styles. These styles were popular at the time and often featured grand designs. The original plan included a special type of roof called a mansard roof, but this idea was changed for safety reasons. The new courthouse was completed in 1873.
Modern Changes and Needs
By 2006, Defiance County's population had grown even more. The county offices needed more space. People in the county voted on whether to tear down the old courthouse or build a new addition or a completely new building. The vote showed that people wanted to keep the current building and find other solutions for space.
What the Courthouse Looks Like
Outside the Building
The Defiance County Courthouse is a three-story building. It has parts that stick out in the middle and on the ends. The outside walls are decorated with fancy stone designs around the windows and doors.
The bottom part of the building, called the foundation, is made of stone and doesn't have windows. The first floor has tall, rectangular windows, each with a small triangular decoration above it. The main entrance is under a small, arched porch with Doric columns.
The second floor used to have arched windows, but the arched parts are now filled in with brick. So, these windows also look like long rectangles. The third floor used to match the fancy style of the lower floors. But it was changed to a more modern look with rectangular windows and a clock face.
Past Features and Memorials
The third floor once had a decorative railing on top. A tall clock tower, reaching 125 feet high, used to rise from the center of the building.
In front of the courthouse, there is a special war memorial designed by Mark Homier. It lists the names of soldiers from Defiance County who served in major wars. These include World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Global War on Terror. The memorial shows a sad soldier and a nurse, with two gently sloping wings on either side. It also has an eternal flame, which is a fire that never goes out, to remember those who gave their lives for their country.
