Belmont County courthouse photograph   Save
Ohio Guide Photographs
Description: This three story court house in Belmont County was designed in the Second Empire style by architect Joseph W. Yost and was built between 1885-1888. It is constructed of sandstone and the entrance is flanked by Corinthian columns. The year 1886 appears above the door and a statue of Lady Justice stands atop the central pediment. The building has a domed clock tower and once housed a bell that was removed during reconstruction and now stands in front of the building. This courthouse was designed at the same time as the Miami County Courthouse from 1885-1888 by Yost. Although the two are similar in size, shape, and basic features, the Belmont County Courthouse appears modest in comparison to the Miami courthouse. In 1993 it was chemically power washed to reveal a clean and impressive stone facade. This photograph is one of the many visual materials collected for use in the Ohio Guide. In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Works Progress Administration by executive order to create jobs for the large numbers of unemployed laborers, as well as artists, musicians, actors, and writers. The Federal Arts Program, a sector of the Works Progress Administration, included the Federal Writers’ Project, one of the primary goals of which was to complete the America Guide series, a series of guidebooks for each state which included state history, art, architecture, music, literature, and points of interest to the major cities and tours throughout the state. Work on the Ohio Guide began in 1935 with the publication of several pamphlets and brochures. The Reorganization Act of 1939 consolidated the Works Progress Administration and other agencies into the Federal Works Administration, and the Federal Writers’ Project became the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio. The final product was published in 1940 and went through several editions. The Ohio Guide Collection consists of 4,769 photographs collected for use in Ohio Guide and other publications of the Federal Writers’ Project in Ohio from 1935-1939. View on Ohio Memory.
Image ID: SA1039AV_B01F15_001
Subjects: Courthouses--Ohio; Architecture; Buildings; Ohio government; Belmont County (Ohio)--History
Places: St. Clairesville (Ohio), Belmont County (Ohio)