Lake County - American Courthouses

Lake County is named for Clear Lake which lake is situate in the county.

Surtrounding County Courthouses:

N – Mendocino County and Glenn County

E – Glenn County, Colusa County and Yolo County

S – Napa County

W – Sonoma County and Mendocino County

Created: May 20, 1861

County Seat:

Lakeport 1861 – 1867

Lower Lake 1867 – 1870

Lakeport 1870 – present

County Courthouse – Lakeport

Location: 225 Forbes Street / 2nd Street

Built: 1967 – 1968

Style: Modern

Architect: James E Prather and Robert W Stevens

Contractor: Wright & Oretsky

Description: The building faces east and is a four story brown colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Lakeport. All sides of the building have high arches with recessed glass walls behind. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the courtrooms were located on the fourth story. The building houses the County Superior Court.

New County Courthouse – Lakeport

Location: 675 Lakeport Boulevard / Bevins Street

Built: 2024 – 2026

Style: Modern

Architect: Lionakis, Inc and TLCD Architecture

Contractor: Broward Builders, Inc.

Description: The building faces south and is a one story design built structure. The roof line is flat. In the interior are four courtrooms.

Old County Courthouse – Lakeport

Location: 255 North Main Street / 2nd Street

Built: 1870 – 1871

Style: Georgian

Architect: A P Petit.

Contractor: A P Petit.

Description: The building faces east and is a two story brown colored brick, wood and concrete structure. The regtangular shaped building is located on the spacious grounds in the center of Lakeport with the City Park on the east side of the building. The exterior has a concrete coating. The east front has a central entrance on the first story with small balcony above on the second story. There are vertical brick piasters. At the roof is hipped with gable ends. The courthouse was remodeled including a coat of cement in 1906. The contractor was W H Castner. The building is now a museum.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Lake County Courthouse

See: The county is located in the 1st Appellate District of the Court of Appeal – San Francisco.

History: The county was created in 1861 and Lakeport was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a wood structure built in 1861 but was destroyed by fire. The second wood courthouse was also destroyed by fire in 1867. In 1867 the county seat was moved to Lower Lake and returned to Lakeport in 1870. The third courthouse was constructed in 1870 to 1871 at a cost of $17,000. The building was remodeled in 1906 at a cost of $2,500 and is still standing. The fourth courthouse was constructed in 1967 to 1968 and is still standing. The Clearlake courthouse was constructed in 1974. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 2024 to 2026 at a cost of $67,483,000.

County Courthouse – Clearlake

Location: 7000 A South Center Drive / Dam Road Extension

Built: 1974

Style: Modern

Architect: Unknown

Contractor: Unknown

Description: The building faces south and is a one story design built structure. The roof line is flat.