Adams County, Ohio

Founding: July 10, 1797
Parent county: Hamilton

Namesake: John Adams (1735–1826), Founding Father and second U.S. president
Seats: Manchester (1797); Adamsville (1798); Washington (1799–1804); West Union (1804–)

Land area: 584 square miles

Population (2010): 28,550

Population (historic): 3,432 (1800); 18,883 (1850); 26,328 (1900); 20,381 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1810s; 1840s; 1870s; 1970s

Subdivisions: Six villages; two CDPs; 15 townships

National Register listings: 16

Income (per capita): $17,693

Income (median household): $32,791
Business establishments: 372 (76.7 people per business)
Pre-1939 residences (estimated): 2,040 (15.8%)
Vacant houses: 2,149 (16.7%)
Sources of settlement: Pennsylvania; Virginia; Northern Ireland; Kentucky

West Union

Namesake: Unknown

Founding: 1804 (platting); 1805 (post office); 1859 (incorporation)

Population (2010): 3,241

Population (historic): 229 (1810); 444 (1850); 1,033 (1900); 1,094 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1810s; 1870–1900; 1930–1990
Typology: Grid (with courthouse square)

Courthouse Prehistory

- In 1797, during its first session, the Adams County government convened at an unidentified private residence in Manchester.

- In 1798, the county government relocated to Adamsville, an unplatted community on the banks of Brush Creek. Whether or not a dedicated courthouse existed in Adamsville is unclear.

- In Washington (which lay near the confluence of the Ohio River and Brush Creek), the county government met at the home of Noble Grimes until 1802. It then moved to a two-story log structure, which combined the functions of a courthouse and jail.

- After West Union was declared county seat, officials met in a log house built (and vacated) by Robert McClanahan—the first structure erected in the new village.

- In the 1870s, inhabitants of Manchester lobbied for a return of the Adams County government to their city. Voters, though, rejected the proposal.

First Courthouse

Location: Public square (West Union)

Construction: late 1805

Years of service: 1805–1811

Typology: Single pen (30' by 24'); log; two-story

Style: None

Builder: William Foster

Cost: $709 ($11,752 in 2017 dollars)

Status: Razed (logs were reused in a private residence)

Features of note: Exterior stone chimney; exterior staircase and second-floor entry; first-floor courtroom; six-over-six and ten-over-ten windows.

Second Courthouse

Location: Public square (West Union)
Construction: 1811
Years of service: 1811–1876
Typology: Double-pile, center-hall; stone; two-story
Style: Federal
Builders: Thomas Metcalfe, Jesse Eastburn, and Hamilton Dunbar
Cost: $2,830 ($42,233 in 2017 dollars)
Status: Razed
Features of note: Five-by-two bay arrangement; exterior chimney; central cupola; jack-arched windows (with fifteen-over-fifteen sashes); round-arched Federal entry with pedimented surround.

For a photo, see this page.

Third Courthouse

Photo by David Gardner, courtesy of Columbus Memory.

Location: Public square (West Union)
Construction: 1873–1876
Years of service: 1876–1910
Typology: Axial (rectangular); brick; two-story
Style: Greco–Italianate
Builder: Joseph W. Shinn
Cost: $17,300 ($404,457 in 2017 dollars)
Status: Razed (burned in 1910)
Features of note: Five-by-three bay arrangement; slightly projecting pediment; simple, gable-spanning cornice; central clock tower; relatively tall second floor; stone string course; round- and segmental-arched windows with stone hoodmolds; pedimented door surround.

For more photos, see this page.

Fourth Courthouse

Location: 110 West Main Street (West Union)
Construction: 1910–1911 / 1975
Years of service: 1911–
Typology: Axial (rectangular); brick; two-story (with elevated basement)
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: T.S. Murray and Son; Hayes, Donaldson, and Wittenmeyer (addition)
Cost: Unknown
Status: Extant; functioning
Features of note: Pedimented two-story porch with square brick columns; buff brick; plain entablature; rectangular lintels and sills; one-over-one windows; segmental-arched bank of windows above entry; rusticated basement walls with string courses; red-brick pilasters on side elevations; central clock tower with dome, round arches, corbelling, and balustrades.

Photo by Aesopposea.

Sources: Wikipedia; Courthouse History; United States Census Bureau; A History of Adams County, Ohio (Stivers, 1900).