Oldham County - American Courthouses

Oldham County is named for William Oldham, who was a colonel in the American Revolution and who lived from 1753 to 1791.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Clark County, Indiana and Trimble County

E – Henry County

S – Shelby County and Jefferson County

W – Clark County, Indiana

Created: February 1, 1824

County Seat:

Westport 1824 – 1838

La Grange 1838 – present

County Courthouse – La Grange

Location: 100 West Main Street / North 1st Avenue

Built: 1874 – 1875

Style: Renaissance Revival

Architect: Monroe Q Wilson of Louisville

Contractor: Moses Swim ( superintendent of the construction project ).

Description: The building faces south and is a two story red colored brick structure. The building has a rectangular configuration and is located on spacious landscaped grounds of Courthouse Square in the center of La Grange. The south front has a small portico supported by two white colored columns and with a balcony above. The windows are arched and on the second story, there are white colored headers above the windows. A white colored cornice is along the roof line. In the center of the hipped roof is a white colored octagonal cupola with white colored dome which has a crown on the top. The County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court and County District Court of the 12th Judicial Circuit. In 1890 a stone jail was added on the west and in 1920 an office wing was added on the east side. A large addition has been added to the north side in 1992. The architect was Scott/Klausing & Company. Inc. and the contractor was Mathys Builders, Inc. On the west side is the County Jail constructed in 1989. The architect was AJR/Voinovich and the contractor was R & W Construction Company, Inc.

See: National Register of Historic Places – La Grange Historic District

History: The county was created in 1824 and the first county seat was at Westport along the Ohio River. The first courthouse was a wood structure built in 1825. The building is still standing as the Westport Methodist Church. In 1838, the county seat was moved to La Grange and the second courthouse was built in 1834 before the official change of the county seat. The building burned in 1873. The third and the present courthouse was constructed in 1874 at a cost of $15,780. Richard Waters, of Hermitage Farm served on the building committee and local labor completed the construction.

County Fiscal Court – La Grange

Location: 100 West Jefferson Street / North 1st Avenue

Built: 1973 – 1974

Style: Modern Colonial Revival

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces south and is a two story light red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of La Grange to the north of the courthouse. The south front has a large portico with four columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. The recessed entrance is framed with white colored wood. The roof is hipped. An addition was constructed on the north side in 2001 to 2003. The architect was Nolan & Nolan and the contractor was Morel Construction Company, Inc.

See: The 12th Judicial Circuit includes Henry County and Trimble County.