{"nrhp_refnum":"75001488","name":"Old Meigs County Courthouse And Chester Academy","other_names":["Chester Grange Hall and Annex"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"OH 248","address_restricted":false,"city":"Chester","county":"Meigs County","state":"OH","lat":39.088269625000066,"lon":-81.92207730699994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1975-06-30","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A pair of brick buildings in Chester, Meigs County, Ohio: the former county courthouse, built in 1823, and the Chester Academy, built circa 1830 on the hillside just south of it. Both are now used by the Chester Grange.","why_significant":"The courthouse is described as one of only two surviving first-generation, Federal style permanent courthouses in Ohio, the other being in Somerset. Together with the academy, it recalls Chester's brief role as county seat before the seat moved to Pomeroy in 1841.","narrative":"Two brick buildings in Chester, Ohio, mark the village's short time as the seat of Meigs County. The old courthouse, built in 1823 by Abel Chase, is a square two-story Federal style building with a stone foundation, hipped roof, symmetrical six-over-six windows and a fanlight over the west door. It is described as one of only two surviving first-generation permanent courthouses in the state, along with the one in Somerset. Just south, on public land, stands Chester Academy, built around 1830. This rectangular brick school has a three-story front, a metal gable roof and a bell cupola. The courthouse served county business until 1841, when the county seat moved to the river town of Pomeroy and Chester declined. The academy served as the local public school until the Civil War era. Today the courthouse hosts Grange meetings, and the academy serves as an annex and archive store.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Abel Chase (builder of the courthouse, 1823)","architectural_style":"Federal (courthouse); transitional Greek Revival and vernacular Greek Revival noted in the data sheet","criteria":[],"status_note":"Courthouse serves as the Grange meeting hall; the academy serves as a Grange annex and archives storage. The academy shows evident but repairable deterioration.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:10.111728-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/75001488.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001488/80ddadb4b2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/75001488/80ddadb4b2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Meigs_County_Courthouse_and_Chester_Academy.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Meigs_County_Courthouse_and_Chester_Academy.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71990255","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Meigs_County_Courthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084500"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/meigs-county/old-meigs-county-courthouse-and-chester-academy-75001488/"}