The first courthouse was built in 1807. It stood in the center of Broad Street at the north edge of Main Street. At the time it was considered the finest in Ohio. Maintenance on the building proved to be too much and in 1867 it was razed.

The new courthouse for the county was to be built on land that was purchased at the corner of Main and High Street. Ground was broken in 1867 and the courthouse was officially opened on March 1, 1872. Jacob Orman was the architect and construction superintendent.

The Renaissance-Romanesque style building features a flat roof, wide bracketed cornices, and curved windows with ornamental window hoods. It was constructed with locally quarried sandstone. The iron fence was made by the Hocking Valley Manufacturing Co.

One of the contractors was Henry Ebner whose face, carved in stone by an artist in St. Louis, appears in the keystone over the entrance.

The courthouse is considered an exceptionally fine building of its period and style.