Old Tompkins County Courthouse

Second Tompkins County Courthouse, National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination Form

Current Tompkins County Courthouse

"COURT HOUSE, JAIL AND CLERK'S OFFICE.--The present court house, built in 1854, occupies the original site selected at the formation of the county in 1817. The structure at the time it was removed had somewhat changed during the thirty-seven years it existed, but still had a most venerable appearance. It was of wood, two stories high, and with a tower or steeple the architectural beauty of which was at the best unimpressive. The basement and a single room in the rear on the west side were the jailer's quarters for himself and his family; the front room was for jurors. A wide hall ran north and south through the building, with doors on either side, and on the east side were six cells for the safe keeping of prisoners, unless those who were detained chose to saw through the wooden sides or doors or manipulate the very simple locks, which lacked nothing in size but were sadly deficient in security.... The second story of the building was the court room, heated by stoves and lighted in the most primitive manner."  John H. Selkreg, Landmarks of Tompkins County, New York, D. Mason & Co. Publisher, 1894

"In 1817, Simeon DeWitt donated this land for a county courthouse. The current structure, the second on the site, was built in 1854. Union Springs architect John F. Maurice designed it in the Gothic Revival style, popular then for domestic and religious buildings. Gothic features include the asymmetrical facade, a tall parapeted tower on one side, a shorter hexagonal turret on the other, and a pointed-arch windows with tracery and molded crowns. The courthouse, thought to be the oldest Gothic Revival public building in New York State, served as the county seat for 80 years, until the present courthouse was built in 1932. After a heated battle to halt demolition, extensive renovations were made in 1975-76 and the second-story courtroom was returned to its original use." Historic Ithaca, DeWitt Park Historic District and Downtown Ithaca: An Architectural Walking Tour, 2. http://www.historicithaca.org

This building appeared as 121 E Court St in the 1936 city directory. In 1932 the county gave the old courthouse building and $18,0000 to the Baptist Church in exchange for two buildings on N Tioga St. The county then built the new court house on N Tioga St, renting the old courthouse building from the Church for county offices.  In 1935, Tompkins County repurchased the old courthouse from the church. (See "Bill to Refund Tax to Church," Ithaca Journal, January 13, 1934, 3; "Court House Repair Fund is Provided," Ithaca Journal, November 15, 1935, 3.)

40', 4-story belfry