Georgian Revival architecture seems particular significant for me, I suppose because of the years I spent on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The core of that beautiful campus is composed of buildings that are mainly Georgian in style. Georgian originated in England (during the reign of the four King Georges) and silly as it sounds, I could look out my window in Allen Hall straight down Gregory Drive. On foggy mornings, the slate roofs, tall chimneys, large widows, brick surfaces, and the general silhouettes of the Library, David Kinley Hall, the Agriculture Building, and others easily let me fantasize about suddenly waking up in London.
So I was pleased to recognize these Georgian characteristics present in a number of Illinois' courthouses. Georgian architecture is characterized by
- Symmetrical form and window placement
- Multi-pane windows
- Side-gabled or hipped roof
- Stone or brick walls
- Transom window over paneled front door
- Pediment or crown and pilasters at front entry
- Cornice with dentils
- Water table or belt course
- Corner quoins
All of the examples we encountered are of red brick. Again, the category includes a couple absolute gems, but also a couple huge disappointments.
Cumberland County Courthouse
Toledo, Illinois
Visited: August 16, 2020
Erected: 1888
Architects: H P McDonald and Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky
The building is mainly a two story red brick building with a columned porch on front and back, each with a second floor balcony. There are tall narrow arched windows on the second floor. There is a hip roof with a white wooden balustrade running along the top edge. A white square tower with a cupola that supports a clock on each side. It is on spacious grounds with nicely spread out trees. The town is so quiet, it gave quite the idyllic feel.
As we visited some of these towns in remote rural regions of the state, we naturally wondered how it would be to grow up here without so many of the cultural resources we take for granted. It's sad to realize how immediately we (or at least I) force things into our own view of how the world should be. We encountered a small group of girls whiling away their afternoon on the courthouse grounds...it sort of appeared to be a young teenager with perhaps a couple pre-teen cousins. Perhaps the older girl was babysitting? But it was lovely to see them having a nice time with each other. There was no play equipment; nothing really except some benches and several war monuments, which they were sitting on and playing around. They asked me to take a picture of them. It's all very meaningless in a way, but also was very affirming to see that people can care for each other and have fun and waste time everywhere.
Cumberland County is named for the Cumberland Road (later called the National Road) that ran nearby and was the route many settlers used to go west.
Clark County Courthouse
Marsall, Illinois
Visited: August 16, 2020
Erected: 1904
Architects: Fuller and Hawkes
Marshall is a considerably larger town than Cumberland, its courthouse and downtown are correspondingly bigger and grander, but it presents a very similar idyllic mood to the town.
The building is of red brick, sitting on a foundation of rough stone. The windows are attractively decorated with arches and stone window caps. At the top is a lovely white open cupola with a bell and clocks. I guess the real front is the plain side with just a central door and pediment, but the side view is really more attractive and welcoming, with a recessed door covered by a balcony supported by four wooden columns.
The only negative, although it is understandable for energy efficiency, is that the windows have been "improved" and most of the attractive arched windows have been blocked with solid filler.
Under the porch is an unusual item: the world's largest gavel. It's sort of silly and seems a little ungainly in its position on the porch, but the gavel is of wood and so I imagine it is good to be sheltered from the weather. I don't know what happened first, but I imagine this is here in some sort of odd competition with the village of Casey, ten miles down the road. Casey boasts a huge number of "biggest things" on its streets. It began there quite reasonably by a yarn shop displaying the world's largest knitting needles. But now it's just weird, with largest mailbox, pencil, chimes, teeter totter, rocking chair, etc....the list goes on. What on paper sounds like it ought to be charming is sort of off-putting.
Marshall boasts one of the Illinois' great cultural treasures--the Marshall City Band which has been performing every years since 1875 and currently performs at the handsome bandstand on the courthouse grounds. This is significant to me in particular as there ought to be a link between the state's oldest band and the state's oldest orchestra, the Belleville Philharmonic, with which I am so deeply involved.
Clark County is named after explorer George Rogers Clark.
Edwards County Courthouse
Albion, Illinois
August 14, 2020
Erected: 1889
Architects: McDonald Brothers of Louisville, Kentucky
The Edwards County Courthouse is a near Dopelgänger for the Cumberland County Courthouse in Toledo. I guess that makes sense as the two buildings were designed by the same firm from Kentucky, just separated by a year. The building here in Albion is different only in the addition of several ungainly additions that have been made over the years. The central tower was surrounded by scaffolding so we were unable appreciate the full effect.
The building sits on spacious grounds with some really great trees. On the corner of the Courthouse square is a handsome and rather unusual two-story bandstand.
It's interesting that Cumberland and Edwards Counties share an identical building in that both share the identity as being among the most politically conservative populations in the state. Indeed, Edwards County is usually rated among the most conservative counties in the entire country
Edwards County is named for Ninian Edwards, first territorial governor of Illinois.
Cass County Courthouse
Virginia, Illinois
Visited: October 12, 2020
Erected: 1874
Architects: Jacob Dunaway and the citizens of Virginia
The Cass County Courthouse is rather unusual, giving the appearance of a house more than a public building...except that it is situated on central town square.
The building is of brick with white trim, narrow arched windows and white stone ornamentation up the corners. There were several additions made over time, not entirely symmetrical which is a bit of a shame. The addition on the right has a modest mansard roof; the addition on the left has a flat roof. It seems it was built symmetrically at first and then had an another addition some time later.
Sadly, the surrounding buildings facing the square were in as bad a condition of any other county seat...the buildings directly facing the courthouse were actively collapsing. Cass County seems largely in need. I'll have to do some research about the county economy; I know at one time there were a lot of melon farms near Beardstown along the Illinois River.
Cass County is named for General Lewis Cass who was Vice President under Presidents Adams and Jackson.
Marshall County Courthouse
Lacon, Illinois
Visited: February 6, 2021
Erected: 1854
Architects: Comegys & Brother and Card and Haggard
The Marshall County Courthouse is one of the oldest court buildings still in use. It sits on a hill above the downtown of Lacon that sits right on the banks of the Illinois River. It's a two-story brick building with very interesting stone carved window caps and small pediment directly above the entrance.
We didn't often get a chance to interact with any local residents in our quick stops in these towns, but a couple leaving the courthouse noticed us taking a picture and volunteered, "She's an oldie but we love her." This was rather heartwarming. This feeling was dampened just a little when the man of the couple then volunteered that bit of trivia that the hangman's noose apparently is still hanging in the courtroom, just hidden by the dropped ceiling.
Marshall County is named for John Marshall, the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hardin County Courthouse
Elizabethtown, Illinois
Visited: September 19, 2020
Erected: 1926
Architect: Thomas S. Thompson
Hardin County is the least populous county I Illinois with countywide population of about 3,600. Elizabethtown is a very small town on the banks of the Ohio River. With a population of less than 300, Elizabethtown is I also one of the smallest county seats.
The courthouse is, correspondingly, one of the most unassuming courthouses. It is red brick with very slight ornamentation. There's an arched entry and a smallish square clock tower. It is positioned on the side of hill overlooking the small downtown.
Apparently, when the prior building burned, the county was so short on funds that it couldn't rebuild until a private citizen stepped up and funded almost of the structure.
Hardin County is named after Continental Army officer John Hardin.
Fayette County Courthouse
Vandalia, Illinois
Visited: August 16, 2020
Erected: 1859
Architect: Frederick Remann
It's odd to even include this among the other courthouses, as it is basically a residential house that was converted into a public building. For many years, Fayette County operated out of the old state capitol building that had been abandoned in 1837. The State of Illinois purchased the capitol as a historic site in the 1920s and so the county had to find a new home.
The core of the building was the Remann residence, a large home sitting on expansive grounds south of downtown. Several additions were made over years, continuing the pattern of brick, arched windows, white trim, etc. It may be quite functional...it's just a little strange.
Fayette County is named for the Marquis de la Fayette, French ally in the American War for Independence.
Jo Daviess County Courthouse
Galena, Illinois
Visited: October 11, 2020
Erected: 1844
Architect: Charles H. Rogers
The Jo Daviess County Courthouse was perhaps the most disappointing of all the places we visited--maybe not because it was so bad on its own, per se, but in contrast to how charming the rest of Galena is. We were there under unideal circumstances as it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon in the Fall, and the city was completely overrun with tourists.
The courthouse is positioned up on a back street some distance from the "pretty" parts of Galena. It is quite an old structure--oddly asymmetrical for this style of building. Then a very old and large stone jail is added on to the back of the building. For reasons unclear the building was set off by police crime tape. Along with the courthouse in Hennepin, it is tied as the oldest building in use in the state.
Galena is a bit of a curiosity among towns. In the early 19th Century, Galena was one of the largest and busiest cities in Illinois with population of 14,000. It was the busiest port on the Mississippi River, with huge riverboat traffic and transport of the ore mined from Galena's lead mines. It's success was sort of the reason for its decline. Galena sits on very steep hills on either side of the Galena River. In the building boom, all the trees and vegetation were stripped for lumber for construction. The result was enormous erosion with the soil eventually silting in the Galena River making it impassable for steamboats. The crash was so severe and sudden that the fortunes of Galena evaporated all at once. There was not even enough interest to keep upgrading and developing much of the town, and so its nineteenth century commercial street was basically left untouched, to be rediscovered and developed into tourist spot beginning in the 1970s. I read somewhere that Galena's Main Street is the longest intact 19th Century commercial street remaining in the country (not really sure if that is true; could be a myth of the Galena Tourism Bureau.)
Jo Daviess County is named for Joseph Hamilton Daviess who was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe. I'm always tempted to pronounce "Daviess" with three syllables, but I guess it is just pronounced like "Davis."
Jasper County Courthouse
Newton, Illinois
Visited: August 14, 2020
Erected: 1878
Architect: Charles Eppinghowser
This is really an unfortunate building. It is of read brick with stone trim and a modest columned porch. I don't know if there was originally a different roof treatment, but the flat roof line with unornamented edge looks sort of unfinished or poorly remodeled. Overall, the building has been adjusted and added onto so many times that it's hard to get an image of its original form.
A pet peeve of mine in old buildings is bricked-in windows and this has two prominent front-facing windows bricked in. The bricks used for the bricking in are a slightly different color than the main part of the building...and they match the top brick course around the top of the building, which makes me think that top was a later modification of some sort. Almost any other roof setup would be more attractive than the current situation.
Next up: the Federal Style
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