{"nrhp_refnum":"78002472","name":"Sullivan County Courthouse","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Main and Muncy Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Laporte","county":"Sullivan County","state":"PA","lat":41.423613886000055,"lon":-76.49384657199994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1978-12-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-story brick county courthouse with a full basement and a four-story bell tower, located on the southeast corner of the town square in Laporte, Sullivan County, Pennsylvania. It was constructed in 1894 by Lawrence Brothers Builders from designs by Wagner & Reitmeyer, Architects.","why_significant":"The nomination describes the courthouse as an excellent example of late 19th century Romanesque courthouse architecture and an example of rural courthouse architecture in Pennsylvania. It is presented as the most important and prominent building in the county, and it houses the smallest county seat in Pennsylvania and, because of Laporte's elevation, the highest.","narrative":"Built in 1894 by Lawrence Brothers Builders from designs by Wagner & Reitmeyer, Architects, the two-story red brick courthouse in Laporte sits on the southeast corner of the town square, with a four-story bell tower visible across the surrounding countryside. Its exterior combines brick with cut stone accents at the foundations, windows and site walls. A cruciform first-floor corridor gives access from three directions, with county offices at the corners, while the jail and sheriff's apartment are set apart from public areas. The second floor holds a large courtroom measuring 50 by 60 feet, which retains its original public seating benches, jury box and judge's alcove. The building is regarded as an excellent example of rural Romanesque courthouse design in Pennsylvania, notable for a plain, direct character that suits the town and its wooded surroundings. It has been altered over time, including a 1969 annex and emergency lighting added in 1973.","period_of_significance":"1800-1899","architect_builder":"Wagner & Reitmeyer (architects); Lawrence Brothers Builders (builders)","architectural_style":"Romanesque","criteria":["C"],"status_note":"Structurally sound and in good repair; original slate roof replaced with asphalt shingles in 1962; heating system updated in 1977.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-haiku-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.1-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 17:11:28.80445-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_PA/78002472.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002472/c4ca0dcb6c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/78002472/c4ca0dcb6c-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"User:Ruhrfisch","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sullivan_County_Courthouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Ruhrfisch</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sullivan_County_Courthouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71996183","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sullivan_County_Courthouse_(Pennsylvania)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7636402"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/pennsylvania/sullivan-county/sullivan-county-courthouse-78002472/"}