McHenry County - American Courthouses

McHenry County is named for General William McHenry, who fought in the War of 1812 and the Black Hawk War, and who served in several General Assemblies.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Walworth County, Wisconsin and Kenosha County, Wisconsin

E – Lake County

S – Cook County, Kane County and DeKalb County

W – Boone County

Created: January 16, 1836

County Seat:

McHenry 1837 – 1843

Woodstock 1843 – present

County Courthouse – Woodstock

Location: 2200 North Seminary Avenue / Russell Court

Built: 1971 – 1972

Style: Modern

Architect: Johnson, Kile, Seehausen and Associates of Rockford

Contractor: Tonyan Construction of McHenry

Description: The building faces southwest and is three story brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds to the north of the center of Woodstock. The main entrance at the southwest corner has a round four story tower clad with dark red colored facing and flanked by light red colored bricks, and with large glass windows on the second and third stories. The rest of the building is a sand colored brick, with windows grouped between solid wall space. Horizontal light red colored brick bands define each story. The roof line is flat. The building is named as the Michael J Sullivan Justice Center. In the interior are wide hallways. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 19th Judicial Circuit. The building was renovated and expanded in 1990 to 1992. The architect was Legat Architects and HOK and the project manager was Jerome E Olsen.

See: The 19th Judicial Circuit includes Lake County.

Old County Courthouse – Woodstock

Location: 101 North Johnson Street / West Jackson Street

Built: 1857 – 1858

Style: Italianate

Architect: John Mills Van Osdel

Contractor: John Mills Van Osdel

Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick, wood and stone structure. The building is located at the center of Woodstock on Woodstock Square. The main east entrance is recessed. A horizontal white stone band encircles the building at the first story. There is white colored stone above each window. Atop the building is a white colored octagonal dome with flagpole. The roof is hipped. In the interior the hallways run east-west and curved stairs ascend to the second story. The former courtroom is located on the north side of the second story. The building now contains an art gallery and a restaurant. On the north side is the old Sheriff’s Residence and Jail built in 1887.

First County Courthouse – McHenry

Location: 21401 North Riverside Drive / Pearl Street

Built: 1838

Style: Wood frame

Architect: Local labor

Contractor: Local labor

Description: The building faces south and is a two story wood, brick and stone structure. The building faces south and was completed in 1838. The building is located at the center of McHenry. The building has a hipped roof and has been remodeled with porch added on the south and east sides. The building served as the first County Courthouse from 1838 to 1844 when it was sold at auction. The building is now a tavern.

History: The county was created in 1836 and McHenry was selected as the county seat in 1837 when the county was organized. The first court met in a log tavern in McHenry in 1838. The first courthouse was a two story frame structure built in 1838, was sold in 1844 and is still standing in McHenry. On March 1, 1839, the county was split creating Lake County. In 1840, the court met in April at Independence Grove (now known as Libertyville). In 1843 the county seat was moved to Centerville which was renamed as Woodstock in 1844. The second courthouse was a frame building built in 1844 and located on the Public Square. The third courthouse was a two story brick structure built by Henry Waite in 1846 and known as the “Rat Hole”. The fourth courthouse was constructed in 1857 to 1858 at a cost of $47,000 and is still standing. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1971 to 1972 at a cost of $3,219,000. In 1990 to 1992 the courthouse was renovated and expanded at a cost of $39,025,000.