Auglaize County, Ohio

Founding: February 14, 1848
Parent counties: Allen, Mercer, Putnam, and Van Wert

Namesake: The Auglaize River
Seats: Wapakoneta (1848–)

Land area: 401 square miles

Population (2010): 45,949

Population (historic): 11,338 (1850); 25,444 (1880); 31,192 (1900); 28,034 (1930)

Periods of population growth: pre-1850–1900; 1940–1960; 1970s

Subdivisions: Two cities; six villages; three CDPs; 14 townships

National Register listings: 24

Income (per capita): $25,290

Income (median household): $52,018
Business establishments: 964 (47.7 people per business)
Pre-1939 residences (estimated): 5,008 (25.5%)
Vacant houses: 1,486 (7.6%)
Sources of settlement: Germany, Virginia, and Pennsylvania

Wapakoneta

Namesake: Unclear—perhaps a Shawnee word

Founding: 1833 (platting); 1849 (incorporation)

Population (2010): 9,867

Population (historic): 504 (1850); 2,705 (1880); 3,915 (1900); 5,378 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1840–1890; 1900s; 1940–1960; 1970s
Typology: Grid

Courthouse Prehistory

- After organization, and until 1851, the fledgling Auglaize County government convened in various Wapakoneta churches.

First Courthouse

Location: Wapakoneta

Construction: 1850–1851

Years of service: 1851–1895

Typology: Front-gabled (temple-form); brick; two-story

Style: Greek Revival

Builders: Scott and Elliott

Cost: Unknown

Status: Razed

Features of note: Square cupola with Ionic columns; pediment; wide, plain entablature; corner pilasters; inset central bay; Doric columns in antis.

For a photo, see this page.

Second Courthouse

Photo by Derek Jensen.

Location: 201 Willpie Street (Wapakoneta)

Construction: 1893–1894

Years of service: 1894–

Typology: Monumental (axial); stone; two-and-a-half-story (with elevated basement)

Style: Beaux-Arts / Romanesque

Architects: Kremer and Hart

Cost: Unknown

Status: Extant; functional

Features of note: Octagonal clock tower with swags and Ionic colonettes; pedimented wall dormers; denticulate entablature with swag-adorned frieze; corner pilasters; round-arched windows; keystones; dentils dividing first and second floors; voussoirs over rectangular windows; arcaded entry.


Sources: Wikipedia; Courthouse History; United States Census Bureau.