Van Wert County Courthouse
Encyclopedia
The Van Wert County Courthouse is a historic governmental building in downtown Van Wert
, Ohio
, United States
. Located at 121 E. Main Street, the courthouse is a Second Empire structure built in 1876. It is Van Wert County's third courthouse: when the county was established, the village of Willshire
was designated the county seat
; Van Wert was made the seat in 1838, and a courthouse-and-jail
complex was built in that community in the following year.
Designed by T.J. Tolan
, an architect from Fort Wayne, Indiana
, the courthouse is a square structure with towers on all four corners. Its architecture combines copious amounts of brick and stone: the foundation and the walls of the first floor are stone, along with the pilaster
s, columns, and quoins
on the upper parts of the exterior, while the walls of the remaining stories
and of the tower are built of brick. Tolan employed multiple groundbreaking construction techniques throughout the structure, such as pressed steel
; his success in using these innovations earned recognition for both him and the courthouse in a national trade journal
. Rising above the front of the courthouse is a clock tower
, crowned with a statue of Justice
. Made of zinc
, the statue is 8 feet (2.4 m) tall; before its installation atop the courthouse, it was awarded first place in a Philadelphia sculpture competition.
Today, county officials continue to use the courthouse for everyday operations. Among the offices in the courthouse are those of the county treasurer
, the county recorder
, the county audit
or, and the Van Wert County Common Pleas Court
. Some other county agencies maintain offices in other locations, such as the county sheriff
and the county commission
ers.
In 1974, the Van Wert County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
, becoming the first building in the county to receive this distinction. It qualified for inclusion because of its well-preserved historic architecture, which was seen as significant statewide.
Van Wert, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 10,690 people, 4,556 households, and 2,947 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,803.8 people per square mile . There were 4,927 housing units at an average density of 831.4 per square mile...
, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Located at 121 E. Main Street, the courthouse is a Second Empire structure built in 1876. It is Van Wert County's third courthouse: when the county was established, the village of Willshire
Willshire, Ohio
Willshire is a village in Van Wert County, Ohio, United States. The population was 463 at the 2000 census. It is included within the Van Wert, Ohio Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
was designated the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
; Van Wert was made the seat in 1838, and a courthouse-and-jail
Jail
A jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States and Canada.Jail may also refer to:In entertainment:*Jail , a 1966 Malayalam movie*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
complex was built in that community in the following year.
Designed by T.J. Tolan
Thomas J. Tolan
Thomas J. Tolan was an American architect.Born in Carrollton, Ohio to James and Elizabeth Crabbs Tolan. Like his father, he began working as a marble cutter in Delphos, Ohio. He married Harriett Todd Skinner on October 24, 1853. At some point in his life he made the jump from being a marble...
, an architect from Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne, Indiana
Fort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
, the courthouse is a square structure with towers on all four corners. Its architecture combines copious amounts of brick and stone: the foundation and the walls of the first floor are stone, along with the pilaster
Pilaster
A pilaster is a slightly-projecting column built into or applied to the face of a wall. Most commonly flattened or rectangular in form, pilasters can also take a half-round form or the shape of any type of column, including tortile....
s, columns, and quoins
Quoin (architecture)
Quoins are the cornerstones of brick or stone walls. Quoins may be either structural or decorative. Architects and builders use quoins to give the impression of strength and firmness to the outline of a building...
on the upper parts of the exterior, while the walls of the remaining stories
Storey
A storey or story is any level part of a building that could be used by people...
and of the tower are built of brick. Tolan employed multiple groundbreaking construction techniques throughout the structure, such as pressed steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
; his success in using these innovations earned recognition for both him and the courthouse in a national trade journal
Trade journal
A trade magazine, also called a professional magazine, is a magazine published with the intention of target marketing to a specific industry or type of trade. The collective term for this area of publishing is the trade press....
. Rising above the front of the courthouse is a clock tower
Clock tower
A clock tower is a tower specifically built with one or more clock faces. Clock towers can be either freestanding or part of a church or municipal building such as a town hall. Some clock towers are not true clock towers having had their clock faces added to an already existing building...
, crowned with a statue of Justice
Lady Justice
Lady Justice |Dike]]) is an allegorical personification of the moral force in judicial systems.-Depiction:The personification of justice balancing the scales of truth and fairness dates back to the Goddess Maat, and later Isis, of ancient Egypt. The Hellenic deities Themis and Dike were later...
. Made of zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
, the statue is 8 feet (2.4 m) tall; before its installation atop the courthouse, it was awarded first place in a Philadelphia sculpture competition.
Today, county officials continue to use the courthouse for everyday operations. Among the offices in the courthouse are those of the county treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, the county recorder
Recorder of deeds
Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...
, the county audit
Audit
The general definition of an audit is an evaluation of a person, organization, system, process, enterprise, project or product. The term most commonly refers to audits in accounting, but similar concepts also exist in project management, quality management, and energy conservation.- Accounting...
or, and the Van Wert County Common Pleas Court
Ohio Courts of Common Pleas
The Ohio Courts of Common Pleas are the trial courts of the state court system of Ohio.The courts of common pleas are the trial courts of general jurisdiction in the state. They are the only trial courts created by the Ohio Constitution . The duties of the courts are outlined in Article IV, Section...
. Some other county agencies maintain offices in other locations, such as the county sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
and the county commission
County commission
A county commission is a group of elected officials charged with administering the county government in local government in some states of the United States. County commissions are usually made up of three or more individuals...
ers.
In 1974, the Van Wert County Courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
, becoming the first building in the county to receive this distinction. It qualified for inclusion because of its well-preserved historic architecture, which was seen as significant statewide.