{"nrhp_refnum":"70000134","name":"Lake County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"255 N. Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Lakeport","county":"Lake County","state":"CA","lat":39.04322331900005,"lon":-122.91825640099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-10-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Two-story brick county courthouse at 255 North Main Street in Lakeport, Lake County, California, built in 1870-71. A. P. Pettit drew the plans and won the construction contract.","why_significant":"The nomination stresses the building's role in county government and politics. Lake County held four elections in nine years over the location of the county seat. The 1870 election returned the seat to Lakeport, and this courthouse served as the seat of government from 1871 to 1968. It also survived the 1906 earthquake.","narrative":"Built in 1870-71 of brick kilned in Lakeport, this two-story courthouse at 255 North Main Street measures 66 by 44 feet. A cast iron balcony above the entrance was used by the court bailiff to announce when court was in session. Later remodeling removed the pediment-type roof end at the front and the brick chimneys, and a concrete coating, later covered with vines, was added. The building reflects a contested chapter in county politics: four elections in nine years decided where the county seat would sit, and a fire destroyed the earlier wooden courthouse before the third vote. The 1870 election returned the seat to Lakeport. A. P. Pettit prepared the plans and won the construction contract with a $17,000 bid. The courthouse came through the 1906 earthquake and served as the seat of county government until a new courthouse complex opened behind it in September 1968. Local residents pressed for its listing in 1970 amid pressure to demolish it.","period_of_significance":"1870-187 (19th Century; the date is truncated in the OCR text)","architect_builder":"A. P. Pettit (plans and builder); W. H. Castner, Junior (1906 repair and remodel contract)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The 1970 form lists the building as vacant and unoccupied, in fair condition and altered, after the county government moved to a new courthouse in 1968. Later letters from 2008 state it has housed a county museum since 1978.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.671243-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/70000134.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000134/515b991bc7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000134/515b991bc7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"Arnaudh","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lakeportcourthouse.png\" rel=\"noopener\">Arnaudh</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lakeportcourthouse.png"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858890","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Lake_County_Courthouse_(California)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084344"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/lake-county/lake-county-courthouse-70000134/"}