Mason County Courthouse | |
| |
Location | 300 E. Ludington Ave., Ludington, Michigan |
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Coordinates | 43°57′17″N 86°26′40″W / 43.95472°N 86.44444°W |
Area | 2 acres (0.81 ha) |
Built | 1893 |
Built by | Charles T. Gatke |
Architect | Sidney J. Osgood |
Architectural style | Romanesque, Richardsonian Romanesque |
NRHP reference No. | 88000602 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | May 19, 1988 |
Designated MSHS | August 15, 1975 |
The Mason County Courthouse is a courthouse located at 300 East Ludington Avenue in Ludington, Michigan. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. [1]
The first courthouse in Mason County was located in the two-story home of Burr Caswell, who turned over the home to the county in 1856. In 1861 the courthouse was moved to a store building located in the now-vanished village of Little Sauble in the north of the county. In 1873 the county seat was moved to the more centrally located village of Ludington, and a single-story county office building was built. Although this building was enlarged, it was quickly outgrown, and in 1892 voters approved the construction of a new courthouse. [2]
The courthouse square was acquired in 1893, and the county hired Grand Rapids architect Sidney J. Osgood to design a new courthouse. Construction began later that year and was completed in September 1894. [2]
The Mason County Courthouse is a square, Richardsonian Romanesque building constructed of dark red brick and reddish brown sandstone. The raised basement story is finished with rock-faced sandstone, and two upper floors are finished with brick, with a beltcourse, window sills, lintels, and other trim of the same sandstone. The building is topped with a combination hip and gable roof. In the center is a pyramid-roof clock tower. [2]