Coshocton County Courthouse
Why it's listed
Coshocton County Courthouse, on Courthouse Square in Coshocton, Ohio, is a two-story brick building with a mansard roof, built between 1873 and 1875. It sits on a stone foundation, measures roughly seventy-five feet square, and has a four-story tower on the south side with clock faces and ornamental iron cresting. Stone quoins, hood molds, a belt course, a denticular cornice and dormers with curly pediments decorate the exterior. Carpenter and Williams of Meadville, Pennsylvania, designed it, and S. Harold and Company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania, won the construction bid. The county's first courthouse, built in 1834, was considered a fire hazard by the 1870s. Voters rejected funding for a replacement, so the commissioners obtained permission from the state legislature. The new courthouse cost over $100,000 and was occupied in July 1875. It was restored in 1954 and remains in constant use. It is regarded as an excellent example of Second Empire courthouse design.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents the building as an excellent example of a Second Empire Period courthouse, significant for its architecture. It replaced an outgrown 1834 courthouse and has remained in constant use as the county courthouse.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 73001402, listed May 22, 1973. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Courthouse Sq., Coshocton |
|---|---|
| County | Coshocton County |
| Listed | May 22, 1973 |
| Reference number | 73001402 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1873-1875 |
| Architect / builder | Carpenter and Williams of Meadville, Pennsylvania (architects); S. Harold and Company of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania (successful bidder/builder) |
| Architectural style | Second Empire |
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | State |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | In generally good condition and in constant use as the county courthouse; restored by the county in 1954. |
| Acreage | 1.1 |
| Within district | Muskingum River Navigation Historic District |
| Coordinates | 40.27426, -81.86624 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
For a publicly owned building or structure, listing mainly matters when federal funds, permits or licences are involved: projects then go through Section 106 review so effects on the property are considered. Listing also strengthens applications for preservation grants and, for leased income-producing uses, can enable the federal rehabilitation tax credit.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 73001402.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5173913
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.