Champaign County is named for Champaign County in Ohio which named for the French word meaning “plain” in describing the area.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Ford County
S – Douglas County
W – Piatt County and McLean County
Created: February 20, 1833 
County Seat:
Urbana 1833 – present
Old County Courthouse – Urbana
Location: 101 East Main Street / North Broadway Avenue
Built: 1900 – 1901
Style: Romanesque
Architect: Joseph W Royer of Urbana
Contractor: V Jobst & Sons
Description: The building faces north and is a three story red colored sandstone, mottled brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Urbana on the west side of the courthouse. In the center of the north front is a high square red sandstone tower rising 135 feet with steep roof and Seth Thomas clock. At the base of the tower is the arched entrance.
Note: Unfortunately, the tower was struck by lightning at least four times including in 1930 resulting in the loss of the clock tower spire and again in 1952 removing the belfry and shortening the tower by nearly 60 feet to a squat castle-like appearance at only 85 feet. The original Seth Thomas clockworks, built in 1877, were removed from the tower in 2002 and renovated. The clockworks were returned to the tower in 2009. Through private donations from County residents, $1,154,000 was raised to pay for rebuilding the clock and bell tower to its original 1901 height.
See: The architect Joseph W Royer of Urbana, Illinois designed courthouses in Illinois in Bureau County, Clay County, Douglas County, Ford County, Grundy County, Marion County, Piatt County and Richland County; in iowa in Linn County; and in Wisconsin in Douglas County.
County Courthouse – Urbana
Location: 101 East Main Street / North Broadway Avenue
Built: 1996 – 2002
Style: Modern
Architect: Isaksen Glerum PC Architects and Moyer Associates
Contractor: PKD Incorporated
Description: The building faces north and is a three story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Urbana. The north front has a semi-circular central section with glass entrance on the first story and recessed second story. The main building has projecting section rising to peaks at the roof line. In the interior is a lobby at the circular entrance with pillars and glass walls. The building is connected to the old courthouse on the west side. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 6th Judicial Circuit.
See: The 6th Judicial District includes DeWitt County, Douglas County, Macon County, Moultrie County and Piatt County.
History: The county was created in 1833 and Urbana was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a log cabin used in 1836 and 1837. The second courthouse was a brick and wood frame structure built in 1840. The third courthouse was a two story brick and wood structure built by E O Smith of Decatur in 1848 to 1849 at a cost of $3,000. The courthouse was remolded to a steel frame with masonry exterior in 1860 at a cost of $30,000. In 1900 to 1901, the fourth courthouse was constructed at a cost of $150,000 and is still standing. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1996 to 2002.
County Administration Building – Urbana
Location: 1776 East Washington Street / Leiermann Avenue
Built: 1969 – 1970
Style: Modern
Architect: Jackson – Cook & Associates
Contractor: L E DeVore Company, Inc.
Description: The building faces south and is a one story tan colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds to the east of the center of Urbana. The complex is comprised of four adjoining octagonal shaped buildings. The roof line is flat with red colored edge. The building was the Norris L Brookens Junior High School.
Old County Courthouse – Urbana
County Courthouse – Urbana
County Administration Building – Urbana
Photos taken 2010