Harlan County | US Courthouses

Harlan County is named for Silas Harlan, who was a soldier in the Battle of Blue Licks, and who lived from 1753 to 1782.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Leslie County, Perry County and Letcher County

E – Wise County, Virginia and Lee County, Virginia

S – Lee County, Virginia

W – Bell County and Leslie County

Created: January 28, 1819

County Seat:

Mount Pleasant 1819 – 1912

Harlan 1912 – present

County Courthouse – Harlan

Location: 210 East Central Street / First Street

Built: 1918 – 1922

Style: Beaux Arts

Architect: C C Weber and E A Weber

Contractor: E G Holladay Company

Description: The building faces north and is a three story brick, concrete and gray colored Indiana limestone structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Harlan and is faced with Indiana limestone. The north front has a high portico supported by four tall stone columns rising to the pediment at the roof. A stone balustrade runs along the roof line. The courtroom is located on the third story. The building was renovated in 2014 using prison labor.

County Judicial Center – Harlan

Location: 129 First Street / Court Street

Built: 2003 – 2004

Style: Modern

Architect: Lyle & Associates

Contractor: Codell Construction Company of Winchester

Description: The building faces west and is a three story brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located in the center of Harlan to the south of the courthouse. The first story has three large arches along the west front and four arches along the south side. Vertical pilasters divide the windows with a high two story windows on the second and third stories of the west front. 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 1819 and Mount Pleasant was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a log structure erected after 1819. The second courthouse was built. The third courthouse was built in 1838 and was burned in 1863 during the Civil War. The fourth courthouse was a two story brick structure designed by Moses W Howard and built in 1886 to 1888. In 1912 the name of the county seat was changed to Harlan. The fifth and present courthouse was constructed in 1918 to 1922 at a cost of $220,000. The County Judicial Center was constructed in 2003 to 2004.

Note: The highest point in Kentucky is Black Mountain at 4145 feet ( 1263 meters ) which is located in the county.