Illinois Courthouse Adventure, Pt 5 Beaux Arts

Here we come to courthouses in the Beaux Arts style, which includes several of the most striking courthouses in the state. The Beaux Arts style was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaus-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but all incorporated Renaissance and Baroque elements, and used modern materials, such as iron and glass.

Some of the common elements are

• Flat roof
• Rusticated and raised first storyHierarchy of spaces, from "noble spaces"—grand entrances and staircases—to utilitarian ones
• Arched windows
• Arched and pedimented doors^[4]
• Classical details: references to a synthesis of historicist styles and a tendency to eclecticism.
• Symmetry
• Statuary, sculpture, murals, mosaics, and other artwork, all coordinated in theme to assert the identity of the building
• Classical architectural details: balustrades, pilaster, festoons, cartouches, etc.
• Subtle polychromy

(I sort of knew that on general, but had to look it up to be specific.)

There was a time when these kind of buildings just seemed like the best thing in the universe to me. With age, I often find that they are A LOT, and can become sort of distasteful if a couple of the features aren't quite up to par.

That being said, the first two courthouses in this category (Scott County and Macoupin County) are absolutely spectacular.

Scott County Courthouse

Winchester, Illinois

Visited:  October 12, 2020

Erected: 1886

Architect: William Buckingham

This building gives an altogether exotic look. It is constructed of red brick with light colored stone trim. A grand staircase leads to an arched entrance, over which are two lovely statues representing "Justice." There is an imposing tower directly above the entrance with handsome clocks on four sides and an unusual onion dome topped by a cupola and flagpole. The courthouse sits diagonally across from the town square.

It is a strikingly original building. An Illinois Department of Conservation historic preservation report remarked that the courthouse "is so uniquely eclectic as to defy categorization."

Winchester was one of those towns that I didn't even know existed before undertaking this project. It has a population of about 1600 but even so is the largest town in the very sparsely populated Scott County.

Stephen Douglas lived in Winchester and taught school there before he became a lawyer and politician. The central square contains a really appealing bronze statue of Douglas.

Scott County is named after Scott County in Kentucky.

Macoupin County Courthouse

Carlinville, Illinois

Visited: July 19, 2020

Erected: 1870

Architect: Elijah Meyers of Philadelphia

The Macoupin County Courthouse is certainly the most extravagant courthouse in the state. It is known as the "Million Dollar Courthouse" as its construction cost exceeded $1,500,000. The absurdity of this sum has long contributed to stories of excess and graft involved in the building of it, given that Macoupin County is a large-in-area but small-in-population rural district. By comparison, the Scott County Courthouse, built 16 years later cost only $35,000.

Architect Elijah Meyers went on to design the state capitols of Michigan, Texas, and Colorado (and also the courthouses in Knox and McDonough Counties in Illinois) and the building here is honestly more in scope of capitol building than a courthouse.

The courthouse gives the impression of a magnificent temple. It is of limestone, set on a high rusticated base, with broad staircases approaching the porticos on front and back supported by grand Corinthian columns. Italianate windows on the second floor are enormously tall. The tall dome is on a high base with arched windows and is capped by a thin cupola. Particularly, given the modest nature of the rest of Carlinville, it is an awe-inspiring sight. There has been considerable deterioration of external limestone, but it appears that there might be some renewed efforts at preservation. The dome was painted silver at the time of our first visit, but on a subsequent visit, I noticed that the entire dome has been rejuvenated with a green coating. It looks like oxidized copper, but I don't think it is actual copper paint or anything like that.

Of course, we weren't able to go in, but apparently the indoor furnishings are also extraordinary. I read that every door in the entire building is made of iron.

Carlinville, itself is very typical of other medium-sized Central Illinois towns. The commercial district around the main square seems to be doing reasonably well.

Carlinville has the distinction of being the single town in the US with the most Sears Roebuck homes. 156 were built and 149 are still standing.

Carlinville is also the home of Blackburn College, where my Dad got his undergraduate degree.

Macoupin County is named for the Indian word “macoupiana”, which means “white potato” for the wild artichoke which grew in the area.

Hancock County Courthouse

Carthage, Illinois

Visited: October 11, 2020

Erected: 1908

Architect: Joseph Eldred Mills

The courthouse in Carthage is the first of several that share very many characteristics and are easily confused. The building is of beige limestone. One unusual feature is its red tile roof. There are broad stairs that approach a nice arched entryway under a pediment supported by four modest Corinthian columns. There is a small dome at each corner and a central tower with an octagonal dome. The dome holds four clock faces and is topped by a lovely statue of Justice.

This was the only building which we had to encounter after dark, but the building was nicely illuminated in a very nicely landscaped spacious square.

I have long had anxiety about Carthage. It is the location of the jail in which Mormon leader Joseph Smith was killed. When I was very little, our family drove through at closing time. My Mom talked the guided into giving us a tour even though it was dark. At the time there was no electricity in the old jail, so we did the tour by candlelight...and it was probably the scariest thing I've ever experienced--especially when they pointed out the bullet hole in the door. It's remarkable how some memories get so firmly embedded in our brains. That probably happened 55 years ago and it feels like it was yesterday.

Hancock County was named for John Hancock, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

 

Kankakee County Courthouse

Kankakee, Illinois

Visited: January 4, 2021

Erected: 1912

Architect: Zachary Taylor Davis

Just like the courthouse in Carthage, this is a three story building of Bedford limestone. The first floor is rusticated stone. Columns spread across the second and third floors supporting a handsome pediment. The roofline is traced all the way around by a stone balustrade. A square tower rises to support a lovely copper-clad dome containing a large clock. It really is quite a nice building on a large landscaped square. In spite of that, there is not too much to remember about it.

Kankakee seems a little down on its fortunes. Aside from having two Frank Lloyd Wright houses, not sure what else is noteworthy.

Kankakee County takes its name (loosely) from the Potawotami name for the Kankakee River.

Woodford County Courthouse

Eureka, Illinois

Visited: February 6, 2021

Erected: 1898

Architects: Bell and Kent of Council Bluffs, Iowa

I feel sort of like just saying "ditto" at this point. Buff limestone, rusticated first floor, arched entry, upper level columns, square tower, dome, clock, etc. One thing that is noteworthy here is that the tower is completely open to the air. There's a staircase visible inside that grants somewhat awkward looking access to the dome and clock.

One noteworthy thing about the setting is that the courthouse sits on a hill at the center of town. The rest of town is of mainly two-story buildings, so approaching the town (at least from the east) grants a really fine view of the dome towering above the trees. It was a very nice effect.

Eureka is the home of Eureka College, a small liberal arts college associated with the Disciples of Christ Church. Its main claim to fame is as the alma mater of President Ronald Reagan. A quick drive-by of the campus did not instill me with confidence about the vibrancy and academic rigor of the college.

Woodford County is named for Revolutionary War General William Woodford.

Fulton County Courthouse

Lewistown, Illinois

Visited: June 28, 2020

Erected: 1898

Architect; Charles Bell of Bell and Kent of Council Bluffs, Iowa

I was just about to start a harangue about how similar this building is to the courthouse in Eureka, when I discovered that it was done by the same architect firm from Iowa. There are several other repeat designers (Smith of Carlinville-Galesburg-Macomb fame and Royer of Louisville-Urbana-Olney-Salem-Princeton-Paxton-Tuscola-Monticello fame) but in the other cases, there was some little effort at originality. Here, the Fulton County building is nearly a dead ringer for the one in Woodford County.

If you want details, read the Woodford County description above as nearly everything there applies here as well. I have to say that there's something ungraceful about the stacked arches right above the central entrance. The most memorable thing about visiting the Lewistown building is that there is a ridiculously picturesque little white church directly across the street.

Lewistown is most well-known as the inspiration for most of the sketches in Edgar Lee Master's Spoon River Anthology. Andy and I spent a couple hours following the Anthology "trail" at the cemetery, finding the tombstones corresponding to the various verses and reading them. We had a good time, but we both suspect that we are among the few visitors who stick it out to go to everyone of the referenced graves (plus one additional grave that has a marker but has the description "no anthology connection."

I'll give this the same rating as Woodford County as it is nearly identical, even though for some reason I remember it as being even less interesting.

Fulton County is named for Robert Fulton, who built the first successful steamboat.

Moultrie County Courthouse

Sullivan, Illinois

Visited: August 13, 2020

Erected: 1905

Architects: Deal & Ginzel

Courthouse here is symmetrical on all sides. The first floor is of rough sandstone with an arch marking the entrance door on all sides. The second and third floors are of brick with stone trim...with stand columned portico with a pediment at the roof line. the tower her appears to be of copper (at least it is the color of oxidized copper) and has an octagon base supporting a dome and clock. It's on the town square with commercial buildings facing it on all sides.

I don't exactly know why, but this building created a really negative impression one me when I first saw it. Perhaps it is that the green dome really doesn't coordinate very well with the red brick. At any rate, I have warmed to it considerably on repeated encounters (but I will continue to rate it relatively low as I'm trying to preserve my initials reactions). Perhaps, after seeing the vast number of limestone buildings, I now am in a place to appreciate the red brick more.

Moultrie County is mostly agricultural. A couple things of significance in Sullivan:

- Little Theater on the Square which is a regional summer stock theater with a good reputation

- A large collection of antique hood ornaments (from a collection of more than 700) is on display in the Elizabeth Titus Memorial Library

- The Ward Museum holds the largest collection of seashells in the world

Moutrie County is named for William Moultrie, American Revolution General who built Fort Moultrie on Sullivan Island, near Savannah, GA.

Menard County Courthouse

Petersburg, Illinois

Visited: June 28, 2020

Erected: 1897

Architects: George Miller & James Fiske of Bloomington

The Menard County Courthouse is a modest building located on central town square. The first floor is of rusticated stone; the second and their floors are of red brick. There is a green copper cornice running along the roof line. A copper dome tops the structure.

I guess I need to feel a little embarrassed at this point. I have always faulted this building for having such a tiny entrance that seemed out of scale with the building (see my photo above). This was marked by signage as the entrance. It turns out that though this might be the entrance, the actual designed front of the building is on the other side. It isn't much better, but at least there is a central that leads one's eye to the entrance, at least. (see the photo below I grabbed from the Internet.) Except for the dome, it looks more like an old high school than a courthouse.

Like nearly every other similarly situated courthouse, the square is faced on all four sides with commercial buildings in various stages of decay and reuse. It does seem like there has been at least some small success in bringing some businesses back to downtown.

Petersburg is best known as the birthplace of Edgar Lee Masters, the burial site of Abraham Lincoln's girlfriend Ann Rutledge, and the town closest to New Salem, a pioneer village where Lincoln first grew to adulthood which was restored as a Public Works project during the Depression and has remained a great historical destination ever since.

Menard County is named for Pierre Menard, first Lieutenant Governor of Illinois, whose French style home on the banks of the Mississippi near Chester is one of the best historical spots administered by the Illinois Historical Preservation Board.

So this completes the loosely-defined collection of Beaux-Arts style buildings.

Next we'll take a look at the Georgian style buildings, of which I can promise at least one perfect gem.

Illinois Courthouse Adventure, Pt 4 Classical Revival

 It may seem like spitting hairs to be differentiating between Greek Revival, Classical Revival, and Neo-Classical. True, the styles share many similarities, but there are a few significant differences, and also, it allows me to process these buildings in smaller batches, as it just can get overwhelming quickly to try to assess and rank too many buildings at once.

Classical Revival was a development from Greek Revival. It often has the same details of Greek Revival (massive columns topped by a front facing pediment) but done on a much more monumental fashion. It brought in more elements from Roman Architecture, which was somewhat more ornamented than the purity Greek temples, but with the common addition of a dome. Classical revival is less ornate than the Beaux Arts style but more detailed than the later Neo-Classical which was similar, but generally with flat, balustraded roofs and less decorated surfaces.

Note, I'm not an advanced expert in these styles, so I might be off a little in my categorization. These are probably the most "prototypical" of the idea of a classic courthouse.

Logan County Courthouse

Lincoln, Illinois

Visited:  July 19, 2020

Erected; 1904

Architect: J M Deal

The Logan County Courthouse sits in the center of Lincoln on a spacious square. Handsome commercial buildings face it on all four sides.

The building is a perfect square, symmetrical on all four sides. Constructed of honey colored limestone and concrete, there is an arched entry on the first floor, with four Ionic columns spanning the second and third stories. The columns are capped with a large triangular pediment. On top is an appealing round dome with a large clock facing all four sides.

Sadly, there is really no landscaping to speak of. Some trees and shrubs could enhance the setting somewhat.

Lincoln has the distinction of being the only US city named for Abraham Lincoln BEFORE he became president. He had helped to found the city and had practiced law there for a number of years. There is a legend that he brought two watermelons to the city dedication, and he and the other founders used watermelon juice to anoint the town. It's a strange story, but there is a small monument of a slice of watermelon outside the Lincoln Amtrak station.

Logan County is named for John Logan, a pioneer physician, who was the father of General John A. Logan.

Grundy County Courthouse

Morris, Illinois

Visited: February 7, 2021

Erected: 1913

Architect: Joseph Royer of Urbana

The Grundy County Courthouse is a very handsome building at the south end of downtown Morris. It really share characteristics from a number of styles, with with classical, Neo-classical, and even Art Deco elements in some of its ornamentation. An online reference specified that it is Classic Revival, so I'm including it here.

The facade is dominated by three massive arched windows, each with a door or large window below. The  limestone building features four columns that are not freestanding, a flat roof, and some interesting carved decoration featuring the letter "G." We couldn't go inside, but there appears to be some very lovely stained art glass in some of the windows.

The grounds are pretty expansive, and include a large and handsome monument to the soldiers lost in the Civil War.

Royer is one of the most prolific of courthouse architects having designed the current buildings for Bureau, Champaign, Clay, Douglas, Ford, Marion, Piatt, and Richland Counties. I would say this was his best effort.

Grundy County is named for Felix Grundy, a United States Attorney General.

Lee County Courthouse

Dixon, Illinois

Visited: February 6, 2021

Erected: 1901

Architect: Charles E. Brush

The Lee County Courthouse sits on a hill above the Rock River. The limestone and concrete building has a horizontally-banded first floor with square entrance portals below soaring Ionic columns spanning the upper floors. There is a high stone solid balustrade with carvings above the pillars. A round copper dome crowns the building.

This is really a very nice building. Because it is on a hill, the view of the short dome is sort of limited as you approach it.

Dixon has the distinction of being the "Petunia Capital of Illinois," for whatever that's worth. In the late 1950s, highway construction and Dutch Elm disease wiped out much of the familiar city scape. The Dixon Men's Garden Club planted pink petunias along the Main Street to create some appeal to the streetscape. This has continued and it really is something to see all the pink petunias in the summer.

Dixon is also notable as the boyhood home of President Ronald Reagan.

Lee County is named after Revolutionary War Hero Richard Henry Lee.

DeKalb County Courthouse

Sycamore, Illinois

Visited: February 5, 2021

Erected: 1905

Architect: Herbert T Hazelton

I should like this building a lot more than I do. It built of limestone and concrete, has a horiontally banded first floor, four handsome Corinthian columns supporting an elaborately carved pediment and central stone monument. Nothing wrong with any of the pieces, but for some reason I just don't warm to it.

There's a towering Civil War soldiers memorial centered right in front of the main front portico; it's a fine monument, but it's placement really detracts from getting an unimpaired front view of the building.

I'm always caught by surprise when I remember that the city of DeKalb is not the county seat of DeKalb County. Another bit of trivia...apparenty other places name DeKalb in US use a different pronunciation. In Illinois, the "l" is definitely included in the pronunciation.

DeKalb County is named for Johann DeKalb, a German who fought in the American Revolution.

Illinois Courthouse Adventure, Pt 3 Greek Revival

Greek revival architecture was a style of building that was very popular in Europe and North America during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This was triggered in part by the exploration and discovery of Ancient Greek culture and archeology of the ruins. There was a desire to recreate the society and the nobility and social ideas of Greece and its philosophy.

Greek revival buildings are characterized by clean lines, geometric ornamentation at cornice, triangular pediments, simple roof lines, and columns. Think Greek temple. The Parthenon is a good prototype, although it is important to note that these architectural features were often applied to quite modest buildings.

The Greek Revival courthouses we found are among the earliest structures still in use. I think this is primarily due to to chance. Most counties started out with Greek Revival buildings but chose at some time to replace those buildings with larger, different styled buildings.

For many counties, they simply outgrew the limited space in these limited buildings due to increased demand by growing population. By and large, the four counties represented here are among the smallest and poorest counties in the state, and probably had neither the pressure nor the resources to invest in a newer, grander building.

The second reason is just a matter of luck or perhaps better stewardship. It is amazing to note how for almost every county, the earlier courthouse almost always burned to the ground. For some reason, these all survived in more or less their original form.

Some of these buildings are places where Abraham Lincoln actually walked.

Stark County Courthouse

Toulon, Illinois

Visited:  July 19, 2020

Erected; 1857

Architect: John Berfield of Knoxville

The Stark County Courthouse is an absolutely lovely exemplar of a small town courthouse and of a Greek Revival building. It sits on a large central grassy square in the center of the village of Toulon. It is rare in that it is constructed primarily of white painted wood. There are four tall wooden Doric columns holding up a simple triangular pediment. On the roof is a modest white cupola.

On the grounds are a Civil War cannon, a stone veterans monument, the old jail, and a historical plaque about Lincoln's appearance here in 1858. After the Lincoln Douglas Debates held around the state, each candidate appeared individually at the courthouse to address enthusiastic crowds. This building was only a few months old and this was just two years before Lincoln left for Washington to serve as President.

Toulon is a sleepy village of 1,200 people in a county with a total population of slightly less than 6,000. Very little exists in the storefronts around the courthouse square. My father lived in Toulon for a short in the late 1920s. 

Stark County was named for Colonel John Stark, a Revolutionary War known as the "Hero of Bennington."

Brown County Courthouse

Mount Sterling, Illinois

Visited: October 10, 2020

Erected: 1868

Architects: David House

The Brown County Courthouse is a two story brick structure with four tall white columns topped by a triangular pediment. The current configuration is similar but not identical to its original plan. The building was nearly destroyed by a fire and rebuilt in 1940. The columns are original and the plan of the exterior. The original building had a cupola which was not rebuilt.

Strictly speaking, this is not exactly a Greek Revival building; the windows are certainly more in line with an Italianate design. But the most significant element in the structure are the bold columns that harken to the earlier style, and so I'm including it here (as you will see, it bears very little in common with the Italianate buildings we'll discover later.

The courthouse sits on a plot of land just off the main street through town; as you turn off the main highway the courthouse is centered in a commanding spot facing the town. There is a nice little park just behind the courthouse; it is the only courthouse I remember with picnic tables and a niftily outfitted playground on its grounds.

Mount Sterling itself is an enigma. It is a small town (population just over 2,000) in a small county (population just under 7,000) in the vast rural area of Western Illinois known fondly as Forgottonia. I was surprised by the up-to-date condition and thriving nature of the town. There has clearly been a successful effort to revitalize the 2-3 block business district, with new sidewalks and lighting, refurbished storefronts, an upscale coffee shop, and a very interesting grocery store called Dorothy's.

Mount Sterling is the home of DOT foods, a large grocery distribution business, and it is clear that the company wants to maintain a good environment for their employees. Dorothy is the "Dot" or DOT foods and the grocery store makes special bulk foods available for purchase for its employees (and for the general public).

The day we were there, a women's clothing store was having "Mamalama" day sale, and so they had a farmer bring in to gentle alpacas (I know...not llamas) for petting and photo ops. Sweetness and Leo were two fabulously irresistible animals.

Mount Sterling would be another place one could imagine living, except for it being so remote.

Brown County was named for Jacob Brown, a soldier in the War of 1812.

Putnam County Courthouse

Hennepin, Illinois

Visited: February 6, 2021

Erected: 1838

Architect: Gorham & Durley

This is the oldest courthouse still in use in Illinois. It is a classic Greek Revival building, with Doric columns, triangular pediment, and clean rectangular lines. It sits on a very large grassy plot, facing a very large city park. The building is striking in its bold simplicity.

Opposite the park is the Hazel Marie Boyle Memorial Plaza--an idyllic little landscaped public garden with a small sculpture. Again, an uncharacteristically sophisticated space for such a small town. (Subsequent research indicates Ms. Boyle was involved in women's healthcare as there are a number of Hazel Marie Boyle women's clinics spread across communities along the Illinois River Valley stretching over to Peru.

Hennepin is another unusual community. It is situated on bluffs above the Illinois River. There really is no business district to speak of, rather just a few assorted businesses spread throughout the residential grid. It is exceptionally small (2010 population of 757) but somehow gives the feeling of a thriving bedroom community...of what larger community is unclear as there is no significant larger city anywhere nearby. It is one of the few downstate communities where we saw active new construction of housing.

The county-wide population is only 6,000 and Putnam County is the smallest county in the state in terms of area. The only obvious industry is an extremely large grain elevator across the river in Bureau County. There was exceptionally high truck traffic and it must be a major location for loading grain onto barges to be moved down the Illinois River.

It is often the seemingly irrelevant things one encounters that make the longest lasting impression. The Hennepin Park had the finest swinging park bench I've ever encountered.

Henderson County Courthouse

Oquawka, Illinois

Viewed: October 11, 2020

Erected: 1842

Architect: Abner Hebbard

The Henderson County Courthouse may be the only county in Illinois that is still using its first and only courthouse (although it was added to in 1901 and again in 1965). Built in 1842, it was well-established when Abraham Lincoln came here to give a stump speech in 1858. (Reportedly, Lincoln had spent significant time in Oquawka early in his life where is is said to have been acquainted with Jefferson Davis who was serving in the army and stationed here.)

Except for being built of red brick, this building is almost identical to the courthouse in external features as the Stark County Courthouse in Toulon. We arrived in Oquawka at dusk and the area around the courthouse was basically deserted except for a couple of cats. I would have a much better impression of this example had it been in another community.

Oquawka is another small town (population about 1100) in a very remote part of the state. The town sits right on a bend in the Mississippi although you would hardly know it. It was established as a significant port but was bypassed by the railroad and its importance pretty much evaporated. It still seems to be a spot for recreational boating as the state highway runs directly INTO the river, to accommodate getting craft into the water. It also seemed like a center of recreational drinking as the only business establishments I remember seeing were well-populated taverns.

Oquawka is connected with an unusual said story. In 1972, the Clark and Walter Circus came to town with its star attraction, a 29-year-old elephant named Norma Jean. Norma Jean's keeper, named Possum Red, had tied the elephant to the lone tree in the city park with a metal chain. During the night a storm rolled through town, lightning struck the tree, the charge traveled through the chain, and poor Norma Jean dropped dead.

In the morning, Possum Red and the whole circus had left town, leaving the town to deal with the three-ton elephant in its park. They buried the beast and a local entrepreneur collected money and built a memorial to the animal, which turned into something of a roadside attraction after a documentary about the animal aired on Showtime. The promoter has since died and it seems Oquawkans are slowly forgetting about the incident.

Without Norma Jean and without insurance, the Clark and Walter Circus folded the next year. It's unclear what happened to Possum Red.

Next up, the courthouses in the related but grander Classical Revival style.

Illinois Courthouse Adventure, Pt 2 Art Deco

 Art Deco is the design style highly popular starting in the 1920’s extending up to WW II. It is characterized by very clean lines, often rectangular but with highly stylized clean ornaments. Later examples also introduced very streamlined aspects. This style that originated in France was used extensively in architecture, fashion, automobiles, and household objects and decorations. The Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in NYC are two of the most well-known examples.

Art Deco buildings, even today, exude a modern and sophisticated feeling. Almost all other building styles (except modern) were backward-looking. Art Deco produced a very optimistic view of the future.

Macon County Courthouse

Decatur, Illinois

Visited: January 5, 2021

Erected: 1939

Architect: Aschauer & Waggoner and Charles Harris

The Macon County Courthouse is an excellent example of art deco civic architecture. It is a seven story limestone and concrete building located in downtown Decatur. It has a central five-story block with two forward projecting wings, a one story projection at the sides, and two recessed floors on top.

The main entrance is into the second floor with a very appealing stepped door frame. The windows in the center section create striking vertical bands. A handsome minimalist clock is on the top floor.

The building was a project of the Federal WPA.

Decatur is typical of once prosperous Illinois industrial cities that have fallen on harder times. Very little retail remains viable downtown; there’s the usual assortment of bars and nightspots distributed around the downtown area. ADM has been for generations the main industry of Decatur. They are still present, certainly, but employ a much smaller workforce.

My 7th grade geography teacher, Miss Gass, went to college at a Millikin University and spoke often of the overpowering smell of soybean processing. I gather that is still true, but I didn’t notice any particular smell during our visit.

Macon County is named for Nathaniel Macon, a congressman from North Carolina.

Jefferson County Courthouse

Mt. Vernon, Illinois

Visited: September 21, 2020

Erected: 1941

Architect: William R McCoy

Jefferson County also has an excellent exemplar of art deco architecture. It is composed of grey stone in the form of several stacked and recessed boxes.

The front entrance is in three parts, the door in the center, flanked by large windows on either side on the first and second floors. Here the clock is uncharacteristically low, being immediately above the first floor entry.

The building is approached by a grand staircase. While it is an attractive (though handicap-unfriendly) feature, I can guess that there must have been some incidents of people misnavigating the stairs, as the bottom most section of the stairs are painted bright yellow. I suppose this might capture the attention of pedestrians, but it is quite a blot on the overall visual impression.

Like the building in Decatur, this was built by the WPA.

The exterior of the building is quite stained with pollution. The overall impact would be greatly enhanced by a good cleaning.

I don’t know what was going on in Mt Vernon, but this was unquestionably the busiest Courthouse we encountered anywhere.

Jefferson County is named for President Thomas Jefferson.

Bureau County Courthouse

Princeton, Illinois

Visited: February 21, 2021

Erected: 1937

Architects: Royer and Darnley

Full disclosure: Princeton is one of my favorite towns in Illinois, so I was mightily tempted to rank this building as #1 in this category on the basis of that alone. 

It is also a fine example of the art deco style, but smaller and simpler than some other examples. The two story entrance is especially fine, with strongly patterned marble surrounding the recessed entrance.

The courthouse sits facing east in a wonderful square that is bisected by the main north and south highway through town. In the half of the park opposite is a truly wonderful Soldiers and Sailors monument. The large park is surrounded by graceful mansions, picturesque churches (one turned into an arts center), the historical museum, and the old Carnegie Library building. Go either direction on Park Ave and you will encounter a number of grand homes. The courthouse park clearly was in the original center of town.

Sometime later when the railroad came through, it passed a mile north and so a second business district developed near the train station (which is served by Amtrak). Princeton retains a vintage operating movie theater, the Apollo, and also a live professional summer theater operation, Festival 56.

I think I would happily live in Princeton.

Bureau County was named after Pierre de Bureau, a French trader.

Hamilton County Courthouse

McLeansboro, Illinois

Visited: September 21, 2021

Erected: 1939

Architect: William R McCoy

The Hamilton County Courthouse sits on an exceptionally large square in the center of McLeansboro. It is a two story building built primarily of golden tan bricks with significant concrete trim. Art Deco seems to be rendered in brick relatively rarely, as the necessary busy-ness of the mortar works against the sleek, smooth effect usually achieved.

On all four sides, a slightly protruding entrance section features a soaring two-story portal. The facade is otherwise marked by vertical brick ridges.

I regret to realize that we were in a big hurry at this moment in our explorations so I didn’t really notice anything much about McLeansboro to report.

Hamilton County is named for Alexander Hamilton.

Gallatin County Courthouse

Shawneetown, Illinois

Visited: September 19, 2020

Erected: 1939

Architect: Housing Authority of Gallatin County

I could beat around the bush and soften this assessment, but this Courthouse is truly a wreck. Original Shawneetown is one of the oldest towns in Illinois and was built right on the banks of the Ohio River. In 1937, a catastrophic flood occurred that basically destroyed Shawneetown, so the town was abandoned and rebuilt a few miles in on higher ground.

This courthouse was built as part of that effort. The city planners certainly had grand plans for their new city. There is an enormous open park area that goes on for seven or eight blocks with some scattered houses and businesses flanking it in a slipshod sort of way. At the end of this expanse sits the courthouse facing down this long open space. Perhaps this would have been beautiful in a place like Paris, and with a better building, but it just looks ridiculous in Shawneetown.

I don’t know which is more off-putting—the setting or the building. It is possible that this building looked nice at some point, but those days are long gone. It is constructed of brick and had an ok art deco profile, but at some point a squat “lid” of aluminum siding got installed around the roofline. It looks so shabby.

Further, it has three bays in front with a door in the middle and what might have been striking windows at some time. But apparently the building does not have air conditioning as there are two aged and battered window units mounted awkwardly on the front of the building. It looks terribly ramshackle; it might have been somewhat better before these “improvements” but it's hard to say.

Gallatin County is one of the state’s poorest areas. In early days, a prominent industry was mining salt, for which permission was granted to import slaves from Lentucky to work the salt mines. I do want to go back, in spite of how horrible this building is from the outside to see some reportedly interesting murals depicting early days of Gallatin County (including the enslaved salt mine workers) that are on the walls of the courtroom.

Meanwhile, the original Shawneetown was not entirely abandoned.  It exists still as a ghost town of sorts called Old Shawneetown. It just might be the creepiest place in Illinois. Eighty years after the flood, there are still readily apparent signs of destruction and abandonment. There are a couple taverns and striking eighteenth century bank building owned by the State Historic Preservation Board, but in many years of passing through, I have yet to ever find it open to visitors.

Gallatin County was named for Albert Gallatin, financier and Congressman from Pennsylvania.

(By all rights, this ought to be rated "1 flag," but I don't have an appropriate graphic loaded and I don't have the capability of making one right now.)

Next up: Greek Revival Courthouses