The Randolph County Courthouse is a government building in central Chester, the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1972, it is the latest of several buildings to serve as the seat of government in Illinois' oldest county, and the second erected in Chester after the relocation of county government from Kaskaskia in 1847 after a devastating flood.
The first Frenchmen settled in present-day Randolph County c. 1685, and for the colony's first several decades, there was no formal local government: the missionary priests at Kaskaskia settled disputes and dispensed justice among both white men and Indians in the nascent French colony. [1] : 27 Conflict with Spain prompted the construction of Fort de Chartres, beginning in 1718, and for many years it was the seat of government in the area, even after Great Britain conquered the region in the Seven Years' War. [1] : 28 However, the fort's location along the Mississippi River left it vulnerable to floods that carried away many walls and towers over the years, and the severity of the flood of 1772 prompted its abandonment and the removal of government to Kaskaskia. [1] : 29
Randolph County was organized in 1795 when Illinois was still part of the Northwest Territory, although an earlier courthouse, built for an early regional territorial court, predated the county by sixteen years. [1] : 100 In the earliest years, three justices of the peace, acting collegiately, served the purposes of a county court; the first regular county court met in 1810 at the tavern of one Thomas Cox. [1] : 103 No courthouse was built during the territorial period; Cox and other Kaskaskia tavern-keepers hosted the county government until 1812, in which year the county purchased a house in Kaskaskia. [1] : 111 The first purpose-built courthouse was completed in 1821 after eighteen months of construction, and the former house sold to become a tavern; a two-story brick structure, the new courthouse cost $4,750. [1] : 114
Disaster struck Kaskaskia in the form of the Great Flood of 1844; the highest waters in living memory forced the residents to flee to nearby bluffs, and the town itself was virtually destroyed. Even the avulsion of 1881, in which the Mississippi River cut off the bend in which Kaskaskia lies and left it attached to Missouri, was much less significant. [1] : 75 The devastation of 1844 prompted calls for the removal of the county seat, and a fiercely contested election, featuring widespread electoral fraud and the involvement in the courts, resulted in the movement of the county seat to Chester in late 1847. [1] : 120 Officials occupied the community's schoolhouse pending the construction of a new courthouse; built and equipped at private expense, [1] : 121 the new building opened in 1850. [1] : 122
The 1850 courthouse lasted well over a century, but it was replaced with the current structure in 1972. A modernist structure with large areas of exterior concrete, its main entrance is situated in a recess at the center of the facade, atop a flight of steps. Above the entrance, a panelled wall features the words "Randolph County Court House" and the county seal. Because the building is set into a river bluff, an observation deck was constructed at the rear to overlook the river, and the interior is five stories tall. A grand spiral staircase, set above a fountain, connects the floors. [2]
Randolph County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 30,163. Its county seat is Chester.
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 34,962. Its county seat and largest city is Waterloo.
Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country. It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th century, when it was a regional center. During the American Revolutionary War, the town, which by then had become an administrative center for the British Province of Quebec, was taken by the Virginia militia during the Illinois campaign. It was designated as the county seat of Illinois County, Virginia, after which it became part of the Northwest Territory in 1787. Kaskaskia was later named as the capital of the United States' Illinois Territory, created on February 3, 1809. In 1818, when Illinois became the 21st U.S. state, the town briefly served as the state's first capital until 1819, when the capital was moved to more centrally located Vandalia.
Cahokia was a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. It was located east of the Mississippi River in the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census, 15,241 people lived in the village, a decline from 16,391 in 2000. On May 6, 2021, the village ceased to exist, being incorporated into the new city of Cahokia Heights.
The Kaskaskia River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately 325 miles (523 km) long, in central and southern Illinois in the United States. The second largest river system within Illinois, it drains a rural area of farms, as well as rolling hills along river bottoms of hardwood forests in its lower reaches. The lower reaches of the river have been canalized to allow barge traffic.
Fort de Chartres was a French fortification first built in 1720 on the east bank of the Mississippi River in present-day Illinois. It was used as the administrative center for the province, which was part of New France. Due generally to river floods, the fort was rebuilt twice, the last time in limestone in the 1750s in the era of French colonial control over Louisiana and the Illinois Country.
The American Bottom is the flood plain of the Mississippi River in the Metro-East region of Southern Illinois, extending from Alton, Illinois, south to the Kaskaskia River. It is also sometimes called "American Bottoms". The area is about 175 square miles (450 km2), mostly protected from flooding in the 21st century by a levee and drainage canal system. Immediately across the river from St. Louis, Missouri, are industrial and urban areas, but nearby marshland, swamps, and the Horseshoe Lake are reminders of the Bottoms' riparian nature.
The Cahokia Courthouse State Historic Site is a reconstructed French-Canadian structure built about 1740 at what is now 107 Elm Street, Cahokia Heights, Illinois. At various times it has served as a house and as a courthouse. It is currently interpreted to resemble its appearance about 1800 as a frontier courthouse of the Northwest Territory. The courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 9, 1972.
The Meigs County Courthouse is a local government building in Pomeroy, Ohio, United States. Built in the 1840s in this Ohio River village, it serves as the seat of government for Meigs County, and it is one of Ohio's oldest courthouses still used for its original purpose.
The Pulaski County Courthouse is a government building in Mound City, the county seat of Pulaski County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1912 and damaged by the Great Flood of 1937, it remains in use as the county's courthouse.
The Gallatin County Courthouse is a government building in Shawneetown, the county seat of Gallatin County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1939, it is at least the third Shawneetown building to serve as the county courthouse, but the only one following Shawneetown's complete relocation to avoid flooding on the Ohio River.
The Williamson County Courthouse is a government building in Marion, the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1971, it is the fourth courthouse in Marion's history.
The Washington County Courthouse is a government building in central Nashville, the county seat of Washington County, Illinois, United States. It is the fourth building to serve as the courthouse for Washington County, having been built in 1884 after the previous courthouse was destroyed by fire.
The Clinton County Courthouse is a government building in Carlyle, the county seat of Clinton County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1999, this new structure is the county's third courthouse; it replaced a building that had been in use since the 1840s.
The Union County Courthouse is a government building in central Jonesboro, the county seat of Union County, Illinois, United States. Built in 2013, it replaced a brick structure whose core predated the Civil War.
The Perry County Courthouse is a government building in central Pinckneyville, the county seat of Perry County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1850, it is the third courthouse in the county's history, and it has been twice expanded to serve the county's growing needs.
The Fayette County Courthouse is a government building in Vandalia, the county seat of Fayette County, Illinois, United States. Converted from a residence in the 1930s, it succeeded a former state capitol as the courthouse for Fayette County.
The Alexander County Courthouse is a government building in central Cairo, the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, United States. Built in the 1960s, it is the latest in a series of courthouses erected in four towns across Alexander County.
The St. Clair County Courthouse is a government building in Belleville, the county seat of St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1976, it is the fifth courthouse in the history of the county, and one of two that still stands.
The Richland County Courthouse is a government building in Olney, the county seat of Richland County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1914, it is the fourth building to serve as the county's courthouse.