- City:
- Mt. Vernon, IL
- Site Type:
- Courthouses (State & Local), Civic Facilities
- New Deal Agencies:
- Public Works Administration (PWA), Public Works Funding
- Completed:
- 1939
- Contractor:
- J M Stover
- Quality of Information:
- Good
- Site Survival:
- Extant
Description
The Jefferson County courthouse in Mt. Vernon IL was built with funds from the Public Works Administration (PWA) in 1939. It is a three-story concrete structure in Moderne or Art Deco style, designed by architect William R. McCoy, who was quite active in central Illinois at the time. It is one of six New Deal county courthouses in Illinois (Weiser 2009).
Unfortunately, Weiser, Wikipedia and other sources make the common mistake of confusing the PWA with the Works Progress Administration (WPA).
The courthouse is an elegant building, with a protruding south portico with three vertical sections divided by bas-relief pillars. Above the doorway is a clock and circular bas-reliefs. There are design elements between the windows and a handsome frieze circles the top of the second floor. The third story is recessed and there are protruding first stories on the flanks, with a formal side entrance on the west.
Source notes
https://www.courthouses.co/us-states/h-l/illinois/jefferson-county/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_County_Courthouse_(Illinois)#cite_ref-weiser_3-0
https://courthousehistory.com/gallery/states/illinois/counties/jefferson
Weiser, Dennis. Illinois Courthouses: An Illustrated History. Virginia Beach: Donning, 2009.
Site originally submitted by Kate Harps & Dale Roberts on October 15, 2019.
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Don Burnett
Hello,
Do you have any information on the courthouse that
Was replaced by the new one in 1939. My folks were married in the previous courthouse around 1935. I have never been able to locate a picture of the ok’d courthouse.
Your help would be appreciated.