Wayne County, Ohio

Founding: January 4, 1812 (declared in 1808)
Parent county: Unorganized territory

Namesake: Anthony Wayne (1745–1796), Revolutionary War general
Seat: Madison (1812–1819); Wooster (1819–)

Land area: 555 square miles

Population (2010): 114,520

Population (historic): 11,933 (1820); 32,483 (1860); 37,870 (1900); 47,024 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1810–1840; 1860–1880; 1920s; 1940–1980; 1990s

Subdivisions: Three cities; 12 villages; three CDPs; 16 townships

National Register listings: 18

Income (per capita): $22,645

Income (median household): $48,375
Business establishments: 2,448 (46.8 people per business)
Pre-1939 residences (estimated): 9,520 (20.8%)
Vacant houses: 3,268 (7.1%)
Sources of settlement: Pennsylvania, Switzerland, Germany, and France

Wooster

Namesake: David Wooster (1711–1777), Revolutionary War general

Founding: 1808 (platting); 1812 (post office)

Population (2010): 26,119

Population (historic): 291 (1810); 2,797 (1850); 5,840 (1880); 10,742 (1930)

Periods of population growth: 1810–1870; 1910–1930; 1940–1960; 1980–2000
Typology: Grid

First Courthouse

Location: Market Street and Liberty Street (Wooster)

Construction: 1819

Years of service: 1819–1828

Typology: Unknown; brick; three-story

Style: Unknown

Builders: Larwill, Bever, and Henry

Cost: Unknown

Status: Razed (burned in 1828)

Features of note: Appearance unknown.

Second Courthouse

Location: Market Street and Liberty Street (Wooster)

Construction: 1831–1832

Years of service: 1832–1877

Typology: Cubic; brick; two-story

Style: Federal

Architect: McCurdy

Cost: $7,200 ($179,383 in 2017 dollars)

Status: Razed

Features of note: Central octagonal cupola; denticulate cornice; three-by-three bay arrangement; round-arched entries; rectangular lintels and sills; six-over-six windows; operable shutters.

For an illustration, see this page.

Third Courthouse

Location: 107 West Liberty Street (Wooster)

Construction: 1877–1879

Years of service: 1879–

Typology: Center-hall (rectangular, street-corner); stone; three-and-a-half-story

Style: Second Empire

Architect: Thomas Boyd

Cost: Unknown

Status: Extant; functional

Features of note: Massive corner clock tower; convex mansard roof; circular dormer windows; paneled, bracketed entablature; segmental-arched windows; pilasters; five-bay facade; entry pediment supported by atlantes; intricate carvings.


Sources: Wikipedia; Courthouse History; United States Census Bureau; History of Wayne County, Ohio (Bowen, 1910).