Wayne County’s current courthouse is the fifth to serve that role. The first, a log courthouse, was built on the present courthouse site in 1842. It was replaced by a brick building in the 1850s that stood until it became dilapidated in the 1880s. A larger building replaced it in the early 1890s and lasted only a few years before burning. Another courthouse was completed in 1897 and remained in use until it too was destroyed by fire in 1921. The present courthouse was completed in 1924 and has been enlarged multiple times.