User:Swilsonmc/sandbox/Licking County Courthouse

The Licking County Courthouse, designed in Second Empire style, is a historic courthouse building located at 20 South 2nd Street in Newark, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 1973-03-20.

History
The current Licking County Courthouse is the fourth one at this site. The first was a log cabin built around 1808 or 1809 right after Licking County was formed out of Fairfield County. The second was a two-story brick building erected in 1815. The third was a larger two-story brick building built in 1832. It was destroyed by fire in 1875, which also destroyed many court records that genealogists seek today. The present courthouse was designed by architect H. E. Myer of Cleveland and built between 1876-1878. Its cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1876, as part of the country's Centennial celebration. A mile-long parade arrived at the courthouse for the ceremony, led by General Charles R. Woods. The dedication was on October 19, 1878.

Exterior
The building faces west and is a three story gray colored limestone structure. The building is located on the landscaped Public Square in the center of Newark. There is a sandstone foundation. On each side of the building are one story porches with four columns rising to a balcony on the second story. There is a large window with the projecting section rising to a small pediment. The building has eleven identical statues of Lady Justice, one at each entrance. The roof is mansard with a large square clock tower with four faced clock and gold colored dome at the top with an iron balustrade surrounding the flagpole. In the interior are religious murals, portraits, busts and stained glass windows. The main courtroom is located on the west side of the second story. The building houses the County Court of Common Pleas – General and Probate Divisions. The building was renovated in 2015.

The outside walls on the upper level are almost two feet thick, and the inside walls are 15 inches. The building contained stained glass portraits of U.S. Presidents, believed to have been done by Louis Tiffany. Many other dignitaries were represented with busts. Beautiful paintings covered the ceilings. The structure was built to be fireproof, but five months after opening on March 29, 1879, the upper part caught fire. Firemen who arrived by train from Columbus were able to confine the damage, and it was repaired quickly, but some court records and much of the valuable artwork were destroyed. Some of the stained glass was replaced by local artist T. D. Jones.