Woodford County - American Courthouses

Woodford County is named for Woodford County in Kentucky from which many of the settlers arrived, and which county was named for William Woodford, who was a general in the American Revolutionary War.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Marshall County and LaSalle County

E – Livingston County and McLean County

S – McLean County and Tazewell County

W – Peoria County

Created: February 27, 1841

County Seat:

Versailles 1841 – 1843

Metamora 1843 – 1894

Eureka 1894 – present

County Courthouse – Eureka

Location: 115 North Main Street / East Court Street

Built: 1897 – 1898

Style: Neo-Classical

Architect: Bell and Kent from Council Bluffs, Iowa

Contractor: H C Bruning of Havana

Description: The building faces west and is a three story gray colored limestone and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Eureka. The west front has a projecting center section with arched entrance. The north and south center sections also project. The first story is course stone. On the center of the roof is a square dome with green colored roof and small cupola at the top. In the interior are marble floors and wainscoting, wrought-iron stair and balcony railings, solid quarter-sawn oak doors and paneling, and deeply molded high ceilings on the upper floors. In the center of the building is a rotunda with the County Circuit Court courtroom on the south side of the third story. The courtroom is decorated with number of wall stencils. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 11th Judicial Circuit. Attached on the north side is the two story limestone and concrete Public Safety Facility constructed in 1999 to 2001. On the first story is a County Circuit Court small courtroom. The architect was LZT Associates Inc. and the contractor was River City Construction, LLC.

Old County Courthouse – Metamora

Location: 113 East Partridge Street / Menard Street

Built: 1845 – 1846

Style: Greek Revival

Architect: David Irving

Contractor: David Irving

Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick and wood structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Metamora. The south front has a large porch with four large white colored columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. On the center of the roof is a square white colored cupola with octagonal top section. In the interior, the courtroom is located on the second story. The building is now the Metamora Courthouse State Historical Site.

See: The 11th Judicial District includes Ford County, Livingston County, Logan County and McLean County.

History: The county was created in 1841 and Versailles was selected as the county seat. In 1843 the county seat was moved to Metamora. The first courthouse was built in 1845 and is still standing. In 1894 the county seat was moved to Eureka. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1897 to 1898 at a cost of $90,232.