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Lafayette County Courthouse, Lexington, Missouri -

Missouri's Lafayette County Courthouse is famous across the nation for the cannonball embedded in the upper left column (pictured), likely fired from Bledsoe's Battery in 1861 during the First Battle of Lexington.

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Metamora Courthouse, Springfield, Illinois -

This historic courthouse built in 1845 is one of the Illinois circuit courthouses where future US President Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The courthouse contains original flooring and furniture from Lincoln's time, and includes a table that was modified to accommodate his long legs (Lincoln stood 1.93 m (6'4").

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Rhea County Courthouse, Dayton, Tennessee -

Built in 1891, Rhea County Courthouse is famous as the scene of the Scopes Monkey Trial of July 1925, in which teacher John T. Scopes faced charges for including Charles Darwin's theory of evolution in his public school lesson.

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Wayne County Building, Detroit, Michigan -

One of the most famous trials to take place in this grand early 20th-century Beaux Arts building involved Clarence Darrow, famous for defending John Scopes in the aforementioned Scopes Monkey Trial. Darrow was a member of the defense team in the so-called Sweet trial, where African-American physician Ossian Sweet was charged with murder in 1925 after he and his friends used armed self-defense against a hostile white mob protesting after Sweet moved into their neighborhood. The charges were eventually dismissed with all defendants acquitted.

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Queen Anne’s County Courthouse, Centerville, Maryland -

Queen Anne's County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse still in use in the state of Maryland. Inaugurated in 1796, the building stands on the site of a former plantation belonging to Judge Joseph Hopper Nicholson. In 1801 as a member of the US House of Representatives, Hopper, though seriously ill, insisted on being carried by stretcher to the Capitol to cast what became the deciding vote for Thomas Jefferson in his battle with Aaron Burr over the presidency.

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King William County Courthouse, King William, Virginia -

Inaugurated in 1725, King William County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse building in continuous use in the United States. While a new courthouse complex has been constructed to augment the old, sessions are still held in the original building to preserve its historical designation.

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New Castle County Courthouse, New Castle, Delaware -

One of the oldest courthouse building in the United States, having been inaugurated in 1730, New Castle County Courthouse has played a role in several historical events, including serving as Delaware's first state capitol. It was here in 1776 that New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties declared their independence from Pennsylvania and England, thus creating the Delaware State.

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Old Salem County Courthouse, Salem, New Jersey -

This is the second oldest courthouse still in continuous use in the United States, after the aforementioned King William County Courthouse. Built in 1735, it's the site where the endearing legend of the tomato was born. In 1820 to prove the edibility of the fruit, which many thought poisonous, soldier and statesman Robert Gibbon Johnson (1771–1850) apparently stood upon the courthouse steps and ate several tomatoes in front of a disbelieving crowd.

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The Cabildo, New Orleans, Louisiana -

Rebuilt between 1795–99 after the original building was destroyed in the the Great New Orleans Fire of 1788, the Cabildo's Sala Capitular (meeting room) was the site of several landmark court cases including Plessy v. Ferguson, a 1896 case in which the Court held that state-mandated segregation laws did not violate the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, a doctrine that came to be known as "separate but equal."

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Old Perry County Courthouse, Somerset, Ohio -

Old Perry County Courthouse has seen a lot of history since it was completed in 1829. But the Somerset landmark has been most studied, noted—and derided—for the inscription over its doorway: "Let Justice be done. If the Heavens should fall." This unusual text has received widespread attention and provoked speculation regarding both its meaning and its origin. But after 190-plus years no one, it seems, is any the wiser.

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Fairfax County Courthouse, Fairfax, Virginia -

During the Civil War, the first Confederate officer casualty of the conflict fell on the grounds of Fairfax County Courthouse. Captain John Quincy Marr was killed during a skirmish between Union cavalry and the Confederate Warrenton Rifles, who were then occupying the vicinity.

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Hunterdon County Courthouse, Flemington, New Jersey -

This photograph taken outside Hunterdon County Courthouse on February 13, 1935 shows the moment the bell rang announcing the fact that the jury deliberating the fate of Bruno Richard Hauptmann had come to a conclusion. Hauptmann was found guilty for his role in the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping and would be later sentenced to death. The courthouse, built in 1828, still stands and looks exactly as did on that fateful night.

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Colonial Williamsburg Courthouse, Williamsburg, Virginia -

It was on the steps of this courthouse that Virginia lawyer Benjamin Waller (1716–1786), in his capacity as clerk of courts, read aloud the Declaration of Independence on July 25, 1776, after it arrived from Philadelphia. During the Civil War the building was used as a hospital for the Confederate Army after the Battle of Williamsburg.

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Hanover County Courthouse, Hanover, Virginia -

Founded in 1735, Hanover County Courthouse served as the political and judicial center for the county. It was here that Founding Father Patrick Henry (1736–1799) successfully argued the famous Parson's Cause case against the Crown in 1763. The building is still actively used for periodic judicial proceedings, which makes it the third oldest courthouse in the country in continuous use.

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Queen Anne County Courthouse, Queenstown, Maryland -

Dating back to 1708, this is very likely the oldest courthouse building still standing in the United States. Careful restoration has preserved much of the original timber, such as the oak wall sheathing and some of the weatherboarding on the end walls; the brick section was added between 1820 and 1840. It was here in 1765 that William Paca (1740–1799), a Founding Father of the United States, was admitted to practicing law in Queen Anne County.

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Northampton County Courthouse, Eastville, Virginia -

This historic courthouse in Eastville in fact comprises three separate buildings—the courthouse itself plus a clerk's office, both dating back to 1731, and a prison, constructed in 1814.

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Chowan County Courthouse, Edenton, North Carolina -

Built in 1767 to replace the deteriorating 1719 wood frame structure, Chowan County Courthouse today stands as one of the finest examples of public Georgian architecture in the American South.

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Fulton County Courthouse, Johnstown, New York -

The oldest existing courthouse in New York state, and one of the oldest in the country still in use, this building was inaugurated in 1773 but actually convened its first court session in 1772 while the building was still under construction.

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Shenandoah County Courthouse, Woodstock, Virginia -

The oldest working courthouse west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah County Courthouse dates back to 1795. Constructed using native limestone, the courthouse was the center of much activity by both sides during the Civil War. What you see today is a result of additional 1871 and 1927 architectural extensions.

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Cahokia Courthouse, Cahokia Heights, Illinois -

Erected originally as a private residence in 1740, this house was repurposed by the federal government in 1793 as a courthouse for the United States Northwest Territory. This photograph shows the Cahokia Courthouse as it looked in the late 1800s and as it still looks today, standing as Illinois' oldest courthouse and the only surviving territorial court.

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Old Isle of Wight Courthouse, Smithfield, Virginia -

Built in 1752 and standing in Isle of Wight County, Smithfield's old courthouse is one of Virginia's very few surviving colonial court structures. It was converted into a private residence in 1812.

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Hopkins County Courthouse, Sulphur Springs, Texas -

Inaugurated in 1895, Hopkins County Courthouse continues to serve as an operating courthouse and is open to the public on a daily basis. Besides the extraordinary facade of red granite with sandstone trim, other unusual features include an interior double-helix staircase with cast-iron steps.

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Bedford Courthouse, Bedford, New York -

Bedford Courthouse stands as one of only three courthouses in New York State built before 1800. Constructed in 1788, it is the oldest government building of Westchester County. Among the esteemed attorneys working out of Bedford was Aaron Burr (1756–1836), who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805.

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Federal Building and US Courthouse, Port Huron, Michigan -

Completed in 1874, this is the oldest federal building in Michigan still occupied by the federal government. From an architectural standpoint, the building is noted as a beautiful example of Renaissance Revival architecture (with Greek Revival influences) that was popular starting in the 1850s.

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Warren County Courthouse, Bowling Green, Kentucky -

Inaugurated in 1869, Bowling Green's historic courthouse is the largest and finest post-Civil War Italianate courthouse in Kentucky. Today, the courthouse exterior looks much as it did back in the day. According to the building's marker, local legend suggests that "prominent lawyers frequently climbed in the windows after dark to gather in the empty courtroom for midnight card games."

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Hinsdale County Courthouse, Lake City, Colorado -

Dating back to 1877, Hinsdale County Courthouse is inextricably linked with the settlement and development of Lake City during the late 1800s mining era. The courthouse is also associated with suffragette Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906), who made an historic appearance at the courthouse in September 1877 to address a crowd so large the meeting had to take place outside the building.

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Osceola County Courthouse, Kissimmee, Florida -

Osceola County Courthouse is the oldest courthouse in Florida still in use. Dating back to 1890 and built in the Romanesque Revival architectural style, its handsome, symmetrical red brick facade makes it a familiar Kissimmee City landmark.

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Charles City Courthouse, Charles City, Virginia -

Named in honor of Prince Charles, later King Charles I, this Virginia courthouse dates back to the 1750s. The compact edifice is one of the state's six remaining arcaded colonial courthouses. A T-shaped brick structure, the building was rifled by Union troops during the Civil War, and many early records were lost.

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Chase County Courthouse, Cottonwood Falls, Kansas -

The oldest operating courthouse in Kansas was completed in 1873 in a French Renaissance Revival architectural style. Constructed from local limestone, the building features a three-story interior spiral staircase made from walnut trees from the Cottonwood River.

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Lapeer County Courthouse, Lapeer, Michigan -

Among the earliest of its kind built in Michigan, Lapeer County Courthouse appears very much as it did when inaugurated, in 1846, and still serves its original purpose: a circuit court room is located on the second floor with jury room while administrative offices are set on the ground floor.

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Charleston County Courthouse, Charleston, South Carolina -

First built in 1753 as the provincial capitol for the colony of South Carolina, this grand Neoclassical building was reconstructed in 1792 and used for the Charleston district courts. Designed by Irish architect James Hoban (1755–1831), it was a likely model for Hoban's most famous building, the US White House. 

Sources: (History) (National Archives) (FBI) (Encyclopedia.com)

See also: America's most illustrious state capitol buildings. 

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