Jefferson County is named for Thomas Jefferson, who was President of the United States from 1801 to 1809.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – St. Louis County
E – Monroe County, Illinois
S – Ste. Genevieve County and St. Francois County
W – Washington County and Franklin County
Created: December 8, 1818
County Seat:
Herculaneum 1819 – 1838
Hillsboro 1838 – present
County Courthouse – Hillsboro
Location: 300 Main Street / Locust Street
Built: 1863 – 1865
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Charles H Pond
Contractor: Charles H Pond
Description: The building faces north and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Hillsboro. The north front has a projecting central section with four vertical stone bands rising to a wide pediment. The central entrance has wood trimmed doorways. There are east and west wings with wood trimmed doorways. There are additional recessed wings on either side. Stone trim runs along the corners. The roof line is flat. In the interior are twelve County Circuit Court courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 23rd Judicial Circuit. In 1892 an addition was added on the east side. The contractor was Joseph Hoeken. In 1954 to 1957, the building was expanded with wings added on the east and west sides. The architect was Bruce Barnes and Associates of Poplar Bluff, and the contractor was Plez Lewis & Son Inc. An addition was constructed on the south side in 1965 to 1966. The architect was Hastings and Chivetta and the contractors were Els Construction Company and M Leonard Construction Company. The building was further expanded in 1975 and 1976. The architect was Jack Stefanski and the contractor was Chivetta Clayton.
County Justice Center – Hillsboro
Location: SW – 1st Street / Maple Street
Built: 2007 – 2008
Style: Modern
Architect: Goldberg, Sullivan & McCrerey Inc.
Contractor: Kozeny-Wagner Inc.
Description: The building faces north and is a three story red colored brick, white colored concrete and glass structure. The building sits on a slope in the center of Hillsboro to the southwest of the courthouse. The entrance is on the west side of the north front. White colored panels are above the windows on the first and second stories. The roof line is flat. In the interior are two County Circuit Court courtrooms.
History: The county was created in 1818 and Herculaneum was selected as the county seat in 1819. The first courthouse was a rented log cabin. The county seat was moved to Hillsboro in 1838 and the second courthouse was built by Roche and Erisman in 1839 at a cost of 3,800. The third courthouse was a brick structure built by Charles H Pond in 1863 to 1865 at a cost of $16,500. In 1892 an addition was built by Joseph Hoeken at a cost $5,000. In 1954 the building was remodeled at a cost $233,700. The 1975 expansion cost was $950,000. The County Justice Center was constructed in 2007 to 2008.
County Courthouse – Hillsboro
County Circuit Court courtroom
County Circuit Court small courtroom
County Justice Center – Hillsboro
Photos taken 2009 and 2026
Images 18*