Piatt County is named for James A Piatt, who came from Indiana and settled in the area in 1829.
Surrounding Counties Courthouses:
N – McLean County
E – Champaign County and Douglas County
S – Moultrie County
W – Macon County and DeWitt County
Created: January 27, 1841
County Seat:
Monticello 1841 – present
County Courthouse – Monticello
Location: 101 West Washington Street / North State Street
Built: 1903 – 1904
Style: Second Empire / Classical Revival
Architect: Joseph W Royer of Urbana
Contractor: H B Walter of Danville
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick, lime stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Monticello. The rectangular shaped building has limestone trim at the corners. The east and west sides have projecting central sections. On the south and north sides are recessed entrances on the first story. The single window end bays are rusticated, with the building’s quoins on the ends and the central pavilion’s stone on the interior sides. The first level of the central pavilion is coursed ashlar. On the second and third stories, the central pavilions are divided into three bays by Ionic pilasters, with single bays framing the wider central bay with triple window groups in a Palladian form. A limestone belt course is carried by the pilasters, with a plain frieze. The pediments have a cornice of dentils, and egg and dart molding, with a central wreath framed by torches and interconnected with a ribbon of limestone. Inset within the wreath on both ends is a shield with “1903.” On the flat roof is a large shallow copper dome with copper fretwork detail upon a drum base. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building was remodeled under the Works Progress Administration in 1938, an elevator was installed in 1958 and the building renovated in 1996.
See: The architect Joseph W Royer of Urbana, Illinois designed courthouses in Illinois in Bureau County, Champaign County, Clay County, Douglas County, Ford County, Grundy County, Marion County and Richland County; in Iowa in Linn County; and in Wisconsin in Douglas County.
See: The contractor was H B Walter of Danville, also constructed courthouses in Clark County and Moultrie County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Monticello Courthouse Square Historic District
See: The 6th Judicial District includes Champaign County, DeWitt County, Douglas County, Macon County and Moultrie County.
History: The county was created in 1841 and Monticello was selected as the county seat. The first court was held on May 14, 1841 in the Devore Hotel known as the “Old Fort”. The first courthouse was a frame structure built by John Rickets in 1843 to 1845. The building was moved to the west side of the square in 1856 when the second courthouse was built and it later burned in 1885. The second courthouse was a two story brick structure constructed by George Dempsey and John Lawry in 1856 to 1857 at a cost of $10,936. John Rickets who had become a judge, participated in the construction. The building was damaged by a storm in 1871 and was sold to the Masonic Lodge. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1903 to 1904 at a cost of $75,000. The cost of remodeling in 1935 was $20,000 and the cost of renovation in 1996 was $1,700,000.
County Courthouse – Monticello
Photos taken 2010
Images 7