The Whiteside County Courthouse is a government building in Morrison, the county seat of Whiteside County, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1987 to replace a 19th-century predecessor, it is the fourth courthouse, in the third community, to serve Whiteside County officials since the county's formation.
Growing settlement in northwestern Illinois prompted the legislature to establish Peoria County in 1825 and to separate its northwestern portions as Jo Daviess County two years later. Out of this county's southern portions was formed Whiteside County in 1836, although it temporarily remained attached to the parent county, and full organization required a number of years to complete; [1] : 16 not until 1852 could the county be divided into townships, for example. By this time, the area was well settled, the first pioneers having arrived more than twenty years prior, [1] : 17 and as early as 1858, there was an old-settlers' association in operation. [1] : 22
County voters met to choose a county seat in 1839, selecting Lyndon, but Sterling residents were dissatisfied with this choice; the county commissioners allowed a second vote at which the upstart supplanted Lyndon, and the seat was moved in 1841. [1] : 29 Nevertheless, the contest continued: county residents pressured legislators in Springfield, who over the next four years enacted three separate laws seeking to resolve the question: a commission was appointed to ascertain the best location in 1843, a Lyndon lawsuit seeking to retrieve the seat status was quashed by an 1846 law naming Sterling the seat, [1] : 30 and an 1849 act ordered another election whose decision was to be final. Sterling being the victor of this election, Lyndon finally ceased to contend, but in 1857, the residents of Morrison urged the passage of another law to permit yet another election, and their victory in this vote caused the seat to move in 1858. [1] : 31
Whiteside County's first courthouse was a simple building constructed on the Lyndon public square, starting in 1840, but as the county seat was removed to Sterling one year later, it saw only a short period of use for its original purpose. [1] : 29 Sterling then built a two-story square brick courthouse with a second-floor courtroom, within which several local churches worshipped before completing their buildings. It stood until the late 1870s, unoccupied after the county offices moved to Morrison, [1] : 31 but after its demolition the site was redeveloped into a residential neighborhood. [1] : 32 The third courthouse was completed in 1865 at a cost of over $14,000, it was a significantly larger building, 85 by 55 feet (26 m × 17 m), with an unusual circular courtroom, [1] : 306 it was a two-story brick structure with county offices on the first floor and courtrooms on the second. [1] : 307 The style was Italianate, due partly to features such as a domed cupola and doubled brackets under the eaves of the shallow roof. [2]
Designed by Phillips Swager Associates, [2] a Peoria architectural firm, [3] the current courthouse was constructed between 1982 and 1987. A firmly modernist building, the courthouse features a wall of brick with a continuous course of windows at the center of each story. A large bay window, the height of the entire floor, projects from the top story atop a column-supported overhang that covers an outdoors walking area on one side of the building. [2]
Whiteside County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 55,691. Its county seat is Morrison. The county is bounded on the west by the Mississippi River. Whiteside County comprises the Sterling, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Dixon-Sterling, IL Combined Statistical Area. U.S. President Ronald Reagan was born in 1911 in the Whiteside County community of Tampico.
The Postville Courthouse State Historic Site is a replica county courthouse in Lincoln, Illinois, United States. The original frame courthouse was built in 1840 and later moved to Greenfield Village in Michigan; the current courthouse, which is a close replica of the first, was built in 1953. The building's unusual history is derived from its status as one of the courthouses used by lawyer Abraham Lincoln as he traveled the circuit of courtrooms in central Illinois. The courthouse replica is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency.
The Metamora Courthouse State Historic Site is a historic American courthouse located in Metamora, Illinois, the former county seat of Woodford County. The courthouse was built in 1845 as the governmental center for Woodford County and as a circuit court for the former Illinois Eighth Circuit. The courthouse is best known for being one of only two surviving Illinois circuit courthouses where future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln practiced law.
The DeKalb County Courthouse is located in the county seat of DeKalb County, Illinois, U.S., the city of Sycamore. The Classical Revival structure sits on a square facing Illinois Route 64 as it passes through the city. The current courthouse was constructed in 1905 amid controversy over where the courthouse and thus, ultimately, the county seat would be located. The current building is the third structure to bear the name "DeKalb County Courthouse." DeKalb County's Courthouse still serves as the county's primary judicial center and is a contributing property to the Sycamore Historic District. The district joined the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. As the county's primary courthouse for over 100 years, the site has been host to many trials, including prominent murder cases.
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 Cuyahoga County Courthouse stretches along Lakeside Avenue at the north end of the Cleveland Mall in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. The building was listed on the National Register along with the mall district in 1975. Other notable buildings of the Group Plan are the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse designed by Arnold Brunner, the Cleveland Public Library, the Board of Education Building, Cleveland City Hall, and Public Auditorium.
The Elbert P. Tuttle U.S. Court of Appeals Building, also known as U.S. Post Office and Courthouse, is a historic Renaissance Revival style courthouse located in the Fairlie-Poplar district of Downtown Atlanta in Fulton County, Georgia. It is the courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
The Marshall County Courthouse is located in Marshalltown, Iowa, United States. The current building was completed in 1886 to replace an earlier building. The courthouse is a dominant landmark in downtown Marshalltown. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. In 2002 it was listed as a contributing property in the Marshalltown Downtown Historic District. It is the third building the county has used for a courthouse and county business.
The Buena Vista County Courthouse is located at 215 East 5th Street in Storm Lake, Iowa, United States. Built in 1972, it is the fourth building dedicated to house court functions and county administration.
The Berrien Springs Courthouse is a former government building located at the corner of Union and Cass Streets in Berrien Springs, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970. It is the oldest courthouse in Michigan and today is part of the History Center at Courthouse Square and is operated by the Berrien County Historical Association.
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 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 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 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 Brown County Courthouse is a government building in Mount Sterling, the county seat of Brown County, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1868 and rebuilt around 1940, it is the second courthouse in the county's history.
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.
The Shelby County Courthouse is a government building in Shelbyville, the county seat of Shelby County, Illinois, United States. Completed in 1881, it is the third courthouse in the county's history.
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.
The Franklin County Courthouse is a government building located in Benton, Illinois. It took 620 days to complete from start to finish, costing around $13 million for the courthouse itself. A nearby government building also saw renovations so it could house the courtrooms and the Circuit Clerk's office while the courthouse was under construction. That brought the total cost to around $18 million.