The Scott County Courthouse is a government building in Winchester, the county seat of Scott County, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1885, it is the third courthouse in the county's history.
Scott County Courthouse | |
 Southwestern corner | |
   | |
 Interactive map showing the location of Scott County Courthouse | |
| Location | Market Street at Hill Street, Winchester, Illinois |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°37′44″N 90°27′19″W / 39.62889°N 90.45528°W |
| Built | 1885 |
| Architectural style | Eclectic |
| Part of | Winchester Historic District (ID87000724[1]) |
| Added to NRHP | February 14, 1979 |
Scott County's first settlers arrived in 1820, one year after the Indians ceded the region to Americans.[2]: 4 A pair of local shopkeepers decided to start a town on Sandy Creek in 1830, and one of them chose to name it for his hometown, Winchester, Kentucky.[2]: 5 In 1839, the General Assembly created Scott County out of a portion of Morgan County.[2]: 4 Winchester became the county seat, as local residents offered to donate land and money for a courthouse and jail.[3]
The new county's officials operated out of temporary facilities for just two years before the first courthouse was completed. This square two-story brick building served for forty-four years before the construction of the current courthouse.[3] County officials chose the St. Louis firm of James Stewart to design their new courthouse in 1885, and William Buckingham was the general contractor.[2]: 6 When the building was completed, Scott County had spent approximately $35,500. The finished building is a two-story brick structure that rests on a stone foundation.[3]
Rather than conforming to a single architectural style, the courthouse combines elements of different styles to an exceptional degree; in 1977, an Illinois Department of Conservation historic preservation report remarked that the courthouse "is so uniquely eclectic as to defy categorization."[2]: 3 Square sections with a single rounded-arch window on each story are placed on the building's corners, while the remaining portions of the sides feature several similar windows spaced closely together. A stone stringcourse visually separates the stories. Above the entrance rises a three-story tower topped with an exceptional onion dome.[3] In 1917, the county converted the tower into a clock tower.[4]
In 1979, much of Winchester was designated a historic district, the Winchester Historic District, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[1] The courthouse is the largest building within the district's boundaries,[2]: 3 and also one of the most critical of the district's contributing properties.[2]: 6
References
edit- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wagner, Robert. National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: Winchester Historic District. National Park Service, 1976-06-02.
- ^ a b c d Weiser, Dennis. Illinois courthouses: an illustrated history. Virginia Beach: Donning, 2009, 136.
- ^ "Illinois Historic Sites Survey Inventory: Scott County Courthouse". Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, n.d.