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The Historic Plymouth 1820 Courthouse For a more detailed and illustrated history of the Court House and environs, please go here.
The former Plymouth County Courthouse property is a significant component of the town’s architectural heritage. The original two-story 63 by 40-foot Federalist brick courthouse was built by Plymouth’s John Blaney Bates in 1820 on the green where colonial builders had framed housing timbers. An expression of civic pride and increasing prosperity, the construction coincided with the 200th anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims. Rising statesman Daniel Webster delivered a historic oration honoring Plymouth’s forefathers on December 22nd in the new building. The court building was enlarged in 1857 so that the “lofty and spacious, well lighted and well ventilated, and elegantly fitted” principal court room was the same size as the original structure. The improvements also including wainscoting and paving with Vermont marble, and adding six feet to the height of the second floor ceilings. A rear addition was added about 1885, and an additional office wing installed in 1962. The 1820 Courthouse, Plymouth’s first substantial public brick building, was greatly admired by residents and visitors alike, being feature in guide books into the twentieth century with references that it “… is one of the finest buildings of the kind in the state, and the judges of different courts give it preference in point of beauty and convenience over all they visit”. The County Commissioners’ building at the south-westerly end of the property was built as a House of Correction in 1853 by architect Jonathan Preston of Boston. It superseded a granite jail built in 1820 (and demolished in 1884), a part of which had been used for long-term incarceration before 1853. As befitting an important civic building, the handsome brick structure was originally fifty feet by thirty-eight, with a stone foundation and rusticated corners of granite. After the new County Prison opened on Obery Street in 1911, the building was renovated to serve as county offices, with a portion leased to the town as a police station. The 1820 Plymouth Court House is one of the town’s most significant historic structures. Built as part of a state-wide effort to professionalize the county court system, the new expanded and dedicated legal venue reflected the community’s pride in being the “shiretown” or county seat. It relieved the cramped conditions of the 1749 Town House, where the courts had shared space with other local civic functions, including a public marketplace. Built by Plymouth contractor John Blaney Bates, Plymouth’s first public brick building employed elements adapted from England’s preeminent architectural designs. It was first used to host the Forefathers’ Day commemoration of Plymouth’s 200th anniversary in December,1820, when Daniel Webster delivered his famous oration on the Pilgrims, followed by a dinner hosted by Mr. Bates. |
