Image Source: Book Wood County Formation. A Century of Progress.
Sketch by Joseph Hubert Diss Debar (1820-1906).
In 1798, justices of the newly-formed Wood County, [West] Virginia, met temporarily at the log house of Colonel Hugh Phelps. Phelps, son-in-law of Capt. James Neal, owned large portions of land south of the Little Kanawha River near Neal's Station. Phelps' house, built sometime in the late 18th century, became the first Wood County Courthouse.
Image Source: Courtesy of West Virgina State Archives
Sketch by Joseph Hubert Diss Debar (1820-1906).
In 1800, plans were made to collect funds and construct the first public building in Parkersburg - a permanent courthouse. By 1802, a two-story hewn log building was constructed of walnut wood on two acres of land owned by John Stokely. The property was on the south side of today's First Street between Ann and Juliana streets. The building was 350' from the Ohio River and faced the Little Kanawha River. The upper floor served as the courthouse; the lower a jail. To get to the courthouse or to continue on to the Point, citizens had the cross a small waterway called Rifle Run by way of a gunwale, or primitive log bridge. After a new courthouse was built in 1817, the old log building was used as a home and as an inn. At some point in time it was covered with clapboard siding and the shake roof replaced with tin, and was used as a warehouse for Rex Hardware Co. In 1905 the Daughters of American Pioneers considered relocating the old historic structure to the City Park to house their museum. Unfortunately, it was not moved to the Park and was razed ca. 1908.
A sketch made from a ca. 1900 photograph of the then dilapidated courthouse building.
Image Source: Courtesy of West Virginia State Archives
Sketch by Joseph Hubert Diss Debar (1820-1906).
In 1817 the third Wood County courthouse was built in Court Square on land donated to the county by William and Mary Robinson, heirs of Alexander Parker. It was a two-story 45' x 45' brick and stone structure with a bell tower topped with a small spire and weather vane. The tower was furnished with a bell costing $400. On the sides of the courthouse were two small brick one-story structures used for the county and circuit clerks. To keep roaming livestock out, the courthouse property was surrounded by a fence made of swinging irons chains and posts. Access was allowed through two turn styles and in the front of the property and one single turn style on the side. Behind the courthouse was a public Market House. It had brick pillars, a roof, and a dirt floor. In the rear of the property, completing the layout, was the state-mandated whipping post.
Image Source: Book Wood County Formation. A Century of Progress.
In April of 1859, a new courthouse, Wood County's fourth, was ordered to be built in Court Square. The Greek Revival two-story structure with four massive columns in the front and a tall steeple opened for business on November 7, 1860. The stone column bases were the largest even brought into the city. In ca. 1885 the steeple was partially destroyed by a lightning strike and was replaced with a cupola. After serving the citizens of Wood County for nearly four decades, it was decided that yet another larger building was needed. During the structure's demolition in July 1899, the original cornerstone was discovered. A 12" square copper box inside held the following items that were carefully placed there in March of 1860: a daguerreotype of Anson Bloomer, a local farmer; a J. M. Boreman medicine bottle; a key to the old courthouse; a copy of an 1860 Parkersburg News newspaper; a copy of a Parkersburg Gazette newspaper; a small brass key placed in the box by Clay Leonard; a copper penny; a copy of Safford's Life of Blennerhassett book; an 1853 silver quarter; a brass plate engraved "T. G. Smith, Books and Jewelry, Parkersburg, Va."; business cards for Thos. Murphy, tinner, H. P. Dils & Sons, W. N. Chancellor, grocer, and J. G. Blackford, grocer; and a copy of Southern Churchman, published at Alexandria, Virginia, in 1860.
Wood County's fifth courthouse, and the third situated in Court Square, was begun in 1899 and is still being used today. It is a massive stone structure built in the American Romanesque style with a 100' tower designed by Canton, Ohio, architect L. W. Thomas and built by the firm of Caldwell & Drake of Columbus, Indiana. The cornerstone was laid October 5, 1899, and the building completed in 1901. The 900-pound bell from the previous courthouse was placed in the bell tower. In the 1970s, the Central City Urban Renewal project planned to demolish the building and replace it with a modern structure. It was saved through the efforts of a few determined citizens and has since been restored.
Photo taken by Perry E. Borchero as part of the Historic American Building Survey conducted and maintained by the National Park Service.
Library of Congress - Prints and Photograph Division.
Image Date: 2009
Image Date: 2009
Image Date: 2009
Carved figure over South (secondary) doorway [entrance now closed off].
Carved figure over North (secondary) doorway.
Carving of the two men represented in the West Virginia State Seal.
