Breckinridge County is named for John Breckinridge, who was a Kentucky statesman and who lived from 1760 to 1806.
Surrounding Courthouses:
N – Perry County, Indiana and Meade County
E – Meade County and Hardin County
S – Grayson County
W – Ohio County, Hancock County and Perry County, Indiana
Created: December 9, 1799
County Seat:
Hardinsburg 1799 – present
County Courthouse – Hardinsburg
Location: 208 South Main Street / Court Street
Built: 1958 – 1959
Style: Moderne
Architect: Walter Scott Roberts of Roberts & Johnson of Owensboro
Contractor: Ramsey Construction Company
Description: The building faces east and is a two story red colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Hardinsburg. The east front of the rectangular shaped building has light colored stone rectangular frame around the glass entrance with high windows on the second story, divided from the first story by a wide black colored panel. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the former courtroom is located on the second story and is used by the County Fiscal Court.
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County Justice Center – Hardinsburg
Location: 111 West 2nd Street
Built: 2010 – 2012
Style: Modern
Architect: Brandstetter Carroll Inc. of Lexington
Contractor: Codell Construction Company of Winchester
Description: The building faces south and is a two story red brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Hardinsburg to the southwest of the courthouse. The east front has a projecting center section with large arched window with entrances on either side and vertical columns on the first story and arched window on the second story with wide pediment above. A horizontal concrete band runs along the top of the first story and vertical pilasters and columns are on the second story. On the center of the roof is a high white colored cupola. The interior has a high circular atrium under the cupola. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 39th Judicial Circuit.
See: The contractor was Codell Construction Company of Winchester which company constructed many courthouse in Kentucky
(see Louisville).
Note: Hardinsburg is the oldest town in Kentucky to retain its original name from 1799 and the second oldest town in Kentucky after Harrodsburg in Mercer County which was settled in 1774.
See: The 46th Judicial Circuit includes Grayson County and Meade County,
History: The county was created in 1799 and Hardinsburg was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a small log structure built in 1800. Later, the courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1820. The second courthouse was built in 1816 to 1818 and was damaged by fire on December 28, 1865 during the Civil War and legend says county records were carried out and taken to a cave underneath the town for safe-keeping. The third courthouse was a brick Italianate structure constructed by E Bennett and W H Dix in 1868 to 1869. The courthouse was destroyed by fire in 1958 and the fourth and present courthouse was built from 1958 to 1860 at a cost of $260,000. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 2010 to 2012 at a cost of $13,016,000.
County Courthouse – Hardinsburg
Former Courtroom
County Justice Center – Hardinsburg
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007, 2018 and 2026
Images 28*