Union County, Ohio / Union County Courthouse

Union County, Ohio, was established on April 1, 1820, from the union of portions of Delaware, Franklin, Logan, and Madison Counties and a section of former Native American territory. The first seat of justice was in the village of Milford, where court sessions were held in the tavern of Nathaniel Kazar. In 1822, the county seat moved to Marysville, where court sessions met in the tavern of Matthias Collins until a courthouse was erected later that year on East Fifth Street. In 1838, that structure was replaced by a two story brick building on the Public Square, which served for nearly fifty years before construction of the current courthouse from 1880 to 1883. Designed by Toledo architect David W. Gibbs using elements of Italianate and Second Empire styles, the Union County Courthouse was built by contractor Karst & Woodruff of brick and Berea stone. Rising 168 feet high and four stories tall, it features a ten-foot-tall Lady Justice atop the cupola and a wrought-iron tower that originally contained a striking tower clock with illuminated dials, seven feet in diameter, manufactured by E. Howard & Co. of Boston, Massachusetts. The building was dedicated on January 27, 1883, at a cost of $135,015, was praised for its beauty, elegance and convenience, was renovated from 1992 to 1994, and still serves the citizens of Union County.

Marysville, Ohio · United States