Kenton County is named for Simon Kenton, who was a frontiersman and an early pioneer.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Hamilton County, Ohio
E – Campbell County
S – Pendleton County and Grant County
W – Boone County
Created: January 29, 1840
County Seat:
Covington 1840 – present
Independence 1840 – present
* Kenton County has two county seats.
County Courthouse – Independence
Location: 5273 Madison Pike / McCullum Road
Built: 1910 – 1911
Style: Greek Revival
Architect: Robertson and Frahnestock
Contractor: Northcutt Brothers
Description: The building faces west and is a two story white colored brick structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Independence. The west front has a large porch with four large white colored columns rising to a wide pediment at the roof line. The recessed entrance is framed and above are arched windows on the second story. On the center of the sloped roof is a large white colored octagonal shaped cupola with gold colored dome at the top. The courtroom is located on the second story and now serves as the County Commissioner’s Meeting Room.. On the north side of the building is the one store white colored brick Clerk’s Office. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 16th Judicial Circuit.
County Justice Center – Covington
Location: 230 Madison Avenue / East 3rd Street
Built: 1976 – 1978
Style: Modern
Architect: KZF Design Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio
Contractor: Corporex Company of Covington
Description: The building faces southwest and is a six story red colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Covington. The southwest corner has a three story curved section with two columns and recessed entrance. Behind, the main building rises to a high brick tower on the southwest. There is a similar tower on the southeast. The interior has ten courtrooms. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 16th Judicial Circuit.
History: The county was created in 1840 and Independence were selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a two story structure built by David Houst. In 1851, Covington was designated as the second county seat and the second courthouse was the Covington City Hall built in 1843. The building was razed in 1899 and the third courthouse and administration building, a brick Chateauesque structure, was designed by Dittoe & Wisenall and constructed in 1899 to 1902 at a cost of $210,000. The fourth courthouse was constructed in Independence in 1910 to 1911. The fifth courthouse and administration building was designed by Carl C Bankemper and constructed in Covington in 1969 to 1970 at a cost of $3,500,000 and is still standing. The sixth courthouse, the County Justice Center was constructed in 1996 to 1998 at a cost of $27,000,000. The County Government Center was constructed in 2017 to 2019 in Covington.
County Government Center – Covington
Location: 1840 Simmon Kenton Way / M L King Jr. Boulevard
Built: 2017 – 2019
Style: Modern / Romanesque
Architect: Brandstetter Carroll Inc. and SFA Architects Inc.
Contractor: Turner Construction Company.
Description: The building faces west and is a five story glass and concrete structure on the north and a five story buff colored brick and concrete structure on the south. The buildings are located to the south of the in the center of Covington. The south Romanesque style building was formerly the Bavarian Brewing Company Building constructed in 1903 to 1954. The building on the north is connected by a glass panel structure.
County Courthouse – Independence
County Commissioner’s Meeting Room (courtroom)
County Justice Center – Covington
Photos taken 2012 and 2018
Images 19