{"nrhp_refnum":"73001447","name":"Fulton County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"S. Fulton and Chestnut Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Wauseon","county":"Fulton County","state":"OH","lat":41.545518865000076,"lon":-84.12898018099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-05-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A brick two-story county courthouse at South Fulton and Chestnut Streets in Wauseon, Fulton County, Ohio, built between 1870 and 1872 by contractors Alexander Voss and H.B. Bensman.","why_significant":"The building is significant for its Tuscan or Italian Villa architecture and as the seat of county government after the county seat moved from Ottokee to Wauseon. The move followed an 1869 enabling act, a $5,000 public subscription and the arrival of railroad access that Ottokee lacked.","narrative":"Fulton County Courthouse, at South Fulton and Chestnut Streets in Wauseon, Ohio, is a brick two-story building in the Tuscan or Italian Villa style. A four-story tower with a clock, belfry and parapet projects from the front. Arched entrances and windows, hoodmoulds, corner pilasters and bracketed cornices mark the exterior. Inside, the courtroom has historic portraits, frescoes and an ornate coffered ceiling. A soldiers and sailors memorial honors the county's veterans. Fulton County was formed in 1850, and its first courthouse at Ottokee burned in 1864. A brick replacement was built there in 1865, but Wauseon had grown into the largest village and had a railroad. An 1869 act moved the county seat on condition that $5,000 be raised by public subscription. Alexander Voss and H.B. Bensman built the courthouse for $45,772, finishing in 1872. Court sessions have been held there ever since.","period_of_significance":"1870-1872","architect_builder":"Alexander Voss and H.B. Bensman (building contractors)","architectural_style":"Tuscan or Italian Villa","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, marked altered and on its original site; the form shows government use and the building as occupied.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:09.844166-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/73001447.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001447/de7dc20219-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001447/de7dc20219-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_County_Courthouse_in_Wauseon,_front.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fulton_County_Courthouse_in_Wauseon,_front.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71988630","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fulton_County_Courthouse_(Ohio)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5508417"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/fulton-county/fulton-county-courthouse-73001447/"}