Livingston County is named for Edward Livingston, who was a mayor of New York, member of Congress and a United States Senator from Louisiana.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – La Salle County and Grundy County
E – Kankakee County and Ford County
S – Ford County and McLean County
W – Woodford County and LaSalle County
Created: February 27, 1837
County Seat:
Pontiac 1837 – present
County Courthouse – Pontiac
Location: 112 West Madison Street / North Mill Street
Built: 1874 – 1875
Style: Second Empire
Architect: J C Cochrane of Chicago
Contractor: Colwell, Clark & Company of Ottawa
Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Pontiac. The north front has a one story portico supported by four white colored Doric columns. There are similar porticos on each side, and square towers with mansard roofs on each corner of the building. On the center of the roof rises a high square clock tower with mansard roof. There is stone trim on the corners and at the top of the windows. In the interior, the wainscoting is pine and walnut. The south stairway is ash and walnut. The first story floor is patterned with black, beige and red colored tiles. The courtrooms are located on the second story. The clock tower was added in 1892. An addition was constructed on the southwest side in 1936.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Livingston County Courthouse
County Law and Justice Center – Pontiac
Location: 110 North Main Street / West Madison Street
Built: 2009 – 2011
Style: Modern
Architect: PSA Dewberry Architects
Contractor: Fredrick Quinn Corporation
Description: The building faces west and is a three story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Pontiac on the southeast side of the courthouse. The west front has steps leading to a plaza in front of a large glass section in the center with rectangular brick towers on each side. The glass entrance section projects from the main building. On the northwest and southwest corners are one story sections. The roof line is flat. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit.
See: The 11th Judicial District includes Ford County, Logan County, McLean County and Woodford County.
History: The county was created in 1837 and Pontiac was selected as the county seat. The court met in private homes for the first four years. The first courthouse was a two story wood frame structure built in 1841 at a cost of $800. The second courthouse was a stone structure built in 1856 at a cost of $14,000. The courthouse was destroyed by fire on July 4, 1874. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1874 to 1875 at a cost of $75,000. The County Law and Justice Center was constructed in 2009 to 2011 at a cost of $16,000,000.
County Courthouse – Pontiac
Picture 1841 County Courthouse
County Law and Justice Center – Pontiac
Photos taken 2010 and 2012
Images 13