Nicholas County is named for George Nicholas, who was a colonel during the American Revolutionary War.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Harrison County and Robertson County
E – Fleming County
S – Bath County
W – Bourbon County
Created: December 18, 1799
County Seat:
Lower Blue Licks 1800 – 1805
Ellisville 1805 – 1816
Carlisle 1816 – present
County Courthouse – Carlisle
Location: 125 East Main Street / North Locust Street
Built: 1892 – 1893
Style: Romanesque and Second Empire
Architect: Erion
Contractor: James George and Robert George
Description: The building faces south and is a three story dark red colored brick and stone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds of Court Square in the center of Carlisle. The south front has a projecting center section with large stone trimmed arch on the first story. Above is a high stone trimmed arch with windows on the second and third stories. Behind, rises a two story clock tower with dome at the top. The corners of the building are trimmed with stone as are the headers on the windows. The roof is sloped and the foundation is stone. The architect was Erion and the contractor was James George and Robert George. The stone mason was Max Metzer. The building was remodeled in 1974 and in 1997.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Carlisle Historic District
County Judicial Center – Carlisle
Location: 217 Short Alley / East Main Street
Built: 2020 – 2022
Style: Modern
Architect: Brandstetter Caroll, Inc. of Lexington
Contractor: Trace Creek Construction, Inc.
Description: The building faces west and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Carlisle and is set back from Broadway Street along Short Alley. The west front has a high central entrance with one story portico supported by four columns. At the roof line is a pediment and on the roof is a white colored octagonal cupola. The main section of the building runs along the west side of Walnut Street. In the interior is an entrance lobby. There are two large County Circuit Court courtrooms, several conference rooms and offices. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 18th Judicial Circuit.
See: The architect, Brandstetter Carroll Inc. of Lexington designed courthouses in Garrard County, Graves County and Washington County, and the contractor was Codell Construction Company of Winchester which company constructed many courthouse in Kentucky (see Louisville).
See: The 18th Judicial Circuit includes Harrison County, Pendleton County and Robertson County.
History: The county was created in 1799 and Lower Blue Licks became the county seat in 1800. The first court met at the home of Martin Baker, Jr. at Lower Blue Licks in 1800. The county seat was moved to Ellisville in 1804 and the first courthouse, a log structure was built. In 1816, the county seat was moved to Carlisle and the log courthouse was moved to Carlisle and used until the second courthouse, a brick structure was built in 1816 to 1818. The third courthouse was a brick and stone structure built in 1844. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1892 to 1893. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 2020 to 2022.
County Courthouse – Carlisle
County Circuit Court courtroom
Photos taken 2007 and 2014