Ashtabula County, Ohio

Founding: May 1, 1811 (declared in 1808)
Parent county: Geauga and Trumbull

Namesake: The Ashtabula River
Seat: Jefferson (1811–)

Land area: 702 square miles

Population (2010): 101,497

Population (historic): 7,382 (1820); 31,814 (1860); 51,448 (1900); 68,631 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1810–1860; 1870–1920; 1940–1960

Subdivisions: Three cities; seven villages; two CDPs; 27 townships

National Register listings: 38

Income (per capita): $19,898

Income (median household): $42,139
Business establishments: 1,938 (52.4 people per business)
Pre-1939 residences (estimated): 14,383 (31.3%)
Vacant houses: 7,031 (15.3%)
Sources of settlement: New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, England, and Vermont

Jefferson

Namesake: Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), Founding Father

Founding: 1803 (platting); 1807 (post office)

Population (2010): 3,120

Population (historic): 439 (1850); 1,008 (1880); 1,691 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1850–1890; 1900s; 1940–1990
Typology: Grid

First Courthouse

Location: Jefferson

Construction: 1810–1811

Years of service: 1811–1836

Typology: Cubic (?); brick; two-story

Style: Unknown

Builder: Granger

Cost: Unknown

Status: Razed

Features of note: Appearance unknown.

Second Courthouse

Location: Jefferson

Construction: 1836

Years of service: 1836–1849

Typology: Cubic; brick; two-story

Style: Greek Revival

Builder: Willis Smith

Cost: $18,000 ($407,684 in 2017 dollars)

Status: Razed (burned in 1849)

Features of note: Central cupola; rooftop balustrade; five-bay facade; portico; entablature; divided bays; Doric (?) columns; rectangular lintels and sills.

For an illustration, see this book.

Third Courthouse

Photo by OZinOH.

Location: 25 West Jefferson Street (Jefferson)

Construction: 1850 / 1891 / 1910

Years of service: 1850–1960

Typology: Irregular; brick; two-story

Style: Romanesque

Architect: John Woolly / J.L. Wilson

Cost: Unknown

Status: Extant (used for minor county offices)

Features of note: Projecting clock tower with round-arched entry; mansard roof; dormers; elongated lintels and sills; string courses; corbelled recesses; brick piers; porch columns with bulbous capitals.

Fourth Courthouse

Photo by Nyttend.

Location: 25 West Jefferson Street (Jefferson)

Construction: 1960 / 1970

Years of service: 1960–

Typology: Modern (irregular); brick; two-story

Style: None

Architect: Kujala and Koski

Cost: Unknown

Status: Extant; functional

Features of note: None.

Sources: Wikipedia; Courthouse History; United States Census Bureau; Condensed History of Jefferson, Ashtabula County, Ohio (Howells, 1878).