Breathitt County is named for John Breathitt, who was the Governor of Kentucky from 1832 to 1834.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Wolfe County and Magoffin County
E – Magoffin County and Knott County
S – Perry County
W – Owsley County and Lee County
Created: February 8, 1839 
County Seat:
Jackson 1839 – present
County Courthouse – Jackson
Location: 1137 Main Street / Court Street
Built: 1962 – 1963
Style: Modern
Architect: Bayless, Clotfeltner and Johnson of Lexington
Contractor: Paul Blanton
Description: The building faces northwest and is a two story red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Jackson. The northwest front has a gray colored concrete enclosed portico extending from the building with gray colored concrete with vertical lines on either side of the glass doorway. On the upper east section of the front is a clock. The building descends on the south down the hill. On the east side the windows are narrow and there is a large gray slab with vertical lines. The courtroom is located on the second story. Along the east side is a War Memorial courtyard and on the south side is the Old County Jail
See: The architect, Bayless Clotfelter and Johnson of Lexington, designed courthouses in Barren County, Laurel County and Rockcastle County.
County Judicial Center – Jackson
Location: 1131 Main Street / Smith Lane
Built: 2005 – 2006
Style: Modern
Architect: CMW, Inc. of Lexington
Contractor: Codell Construction Company of Winchester
Description: The building faces northwest and is a three story red colored brick and concrete structure..The building is located in the center of Jackson to the west of the courthouse. The building has a projecting central tower with clock above and the trimmed arched entrance on the first story. The roof line is flat.
See: The contractor was Codell Construction Company of Winchester which company constructed many courthouse in Kentucky ( see Louisville ).
History: The county was created in 1839 and Jackson was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was built and was destroyed in1866 during the Civil War. The second courthouse was built and was destroyed by fire in 1873. The third courthouse was a two story brick Victorian structure built in 1876 to 1877 and was remodeled in 1889 and 1912. The courthouse was demolished in 1958. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1962 to 1963. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 2005 to 2006.
County Courthouse – Jackson
Old County Jail – Jackson
County Judicial Center – Jackson
Photos taken 2007 and 2018