Warren County - American Courthouses

Warren County is named for Joseph Warren, who was a general in the American Revolutionary War, and who lived from 1741 to 1775.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Butler County and Edmonson County

E – Barren County and Allen County

S – Allen County and Simpson County

W – Logan County and Butler County

Created: December 14, 1796

County Seat:

Bowling Green 1796 – present

County Courthouse – Bowling Green

Location: 429 East 10th Street / College Street

Built: 1868 – 1869

Style: Beaux Arts

Architect: D J Williams of Louisville

Contractor: Charles Ott

Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story dark red colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Bowling Green. The north front has a large portico supported by four large white columns rising to the pediment at the roof. The second story windows are narrow, high and arched. On the roof center is a round white colored cupola with clock and green colored dome roof. In the interior, a central staircase ascends to the second story. The former courtroom is two stories high and is located on the northeast side of the second story. The courtroom now houses the County Fiscal Court.

County Justice Center – Bowling Green

Location: 1001 Center Street / West 10th Street

Built: 1998 – 2000

Style: Modern

Architect: CMW, Inc. of Lexington

Contractor: Alliance Corporation

Description: The building faces southeast and is a four story dark red colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular building has a round tower at the center of the southeast front with entrances on the first story and columns rising from the second story to the top of the fourth story and with recessed glass panels and round black colored dome at the top. Horizontal cornices run below the flat roof line and above the second story windows. On the north side is a two story wing. In the interior is a high ceiling entrance lobby. On the third and fourth stories are lobbies with full glass windows located above the entrance. There are eight courtrooms plus a spare courtroom. The largest is County Circuit Court courtroom C which is located on the fourth story. The courtroom was designed to house the Court of Appeals. The fourth story has two more courtrooms. The third story has two County Family Court courtrooms and three District Court courtrooms are located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 8th Judicial Circuit. In 2012 the building was expanded to add the fourth story. The architect was JKS Architecture of Hopkinsville and the contractor was C D Bowling Contractor of Bowling Green and Codell Construction of Winchester.

History: The county was created in 1796 and Bowling Green was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a one and a half story hewn log structure in 1797 to 1798. In 1808, the county seat was moved to Jeffersonville (New Town). John McNeel moved the courthouse to the new location. In 1808, the court met at the home of Williamson Gatewood in Bowling Green. The county seat was moved back to Bowling Green in 1812 and the second courthouse, a two story brick structure had been was built in 1810 to 1811. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1868 to 1869 at a cost of $125,000. The County Justice Center was constructed in 1998 to 2000 and expanded in 2012 at a cost of $32,000,000.