The Hardin County Courthouse is a government building in Elizabethtown, the county seat of Hardin County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1927, it is the fourth building to serve this purpose in Hardin County, following three that were replaced due to fires or fire-related concerns.
As late as the beginning of the 19th century, today's Hardin County was a debatable and deserted land; the advance of civilization was held back by perennial conflict among the Indians of the region; [1] : 27 the earliest residents of the county were squatters, as no land offices existed in the area until one was opened at Shawneetown in 1814. [1] : 31 Even after the opening of the land office, surveying was limited, and the area's first firm county boundaries were enacted upon the formation of Hardin County in 1839. [1] : 32
The county's obscure first courthouse was a wooden building, and the danger of fire prompted its replacement with a fire-resistant brick structure. However, this building burned in 1884, and most of the county's early records (including documentation from the first courthouse) were destroyed in the fire. The architectural plans for this second courthouse survived, however, and the third courthouse merely reused the second building's design. It also shared the second building's fate, being destroyed by a 1921 fire. Hardin County being a poor region, the fourth courthouse took nearly six years to complete, and the project would have been delayed further without the underwriting of large bonds or the intervention of a contractor willing to work for little more than his expenses in order to finish the courthouse. [2]
Built with largely rectangular windows, the building features a small clock tower atop the two-story facade. [3] A belt course of overhanging bricks sits just below the roof's edge. The main entrance is set at the top of a slight flight of steps and placed within a large archway. [2] Near the base of the steps stands a large war memorial. [3]
Elizabethtown is a village in and the county seat of Hardin County, Illinois, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 299 at the 2010 census, down from 348 at the 2000 census. It is the least-populous county seat in the state.
The Ogle County Courthouse is a National Register of Historic Places listing in the Ogle County, Illinois, county seat of Oregon. The building stands on a public square in the city's downtown commercial district. The current structure was completed in 1891 and was preceded by two other buildings, one of which was destroyed by a group of outlaws. Following the destruction of the courthouse, the county was without a judicial building for a period during the 1840s. The Ogle County Courthouse was designed by Chicago architect George O. Garnsey in the Romanesque Revival style of architecture. The ridged roof is dominated by its wooden cupola which stands out at a distance.
The Hardin County Courthouse, located in Eldora, Iowa, United States, was built in 1892. The courthouse is the third building to house court functions and county administration. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981. In 2010 it was included as a contributing property in the Eldora Downtown Historic District.
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The Henderson County Courthouse is a government building in Oquawka, the county seat of Henderson County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1842 and later expanded, it remains in use as the county's courthouse, despite repeated attempts by other towns to obtain the status of county seat.
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