Morgan County | US Courthouses

Morgan County is named for Daniel Morgan, who was a general in the American Revolutionary War, and who lived from 1736 to 1802.

Created: December 7, 1822

County Seat:

West Liberty 1822 – present

County Courthouse – West Liberty

Location: 518 Main Street / Court Street

Built: 1907 – 1908

Style: Beaux Arts

Architect: M T Lewman of Louisville

Contractor: M T Lewman & Company of Louisville

Description: The building faces south and is a two story brownish green colored stucco structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds. The building is constructed of huge precast concrete blocks. Each corner of the building has an octagonal pavilion projecting from the building. The building has a white colored stone base. On the roof center is a large square white colored wood cupola with clock in the rounded dome at the top. In 1936, the walls were stuccoed with the aid of a Works Project Administration grant. The building was damaged by a tornado on March 2, 2012. On the northeast side is the old two story buff colored stone jail and on the east side is the Judicial Center.

Note: The architect is M T Lewman as he was both an architect and a contractor. The design seems to belong to a series of imposing county courthouses constructed in Kentucky and elsewhere in the first decade of the twentieth century. It bears some resemblance, however, to several of the Kentucky works of Frank Pierce Milburn of Washington, DC. which included the Clay County Courthouse in Manchester (no longer exists), and the Powell County Courthouse in Stanton (1891 - no longer exists).

Note: The courthouse was modeled after the colonial capital in Williamsburg, Virginia.

See: The contractor, M T Lewman and Company of Louisville, Kentucky, built courthouses in Alabama in Autauga County, Coffee County and Monroe County; in Georgia in Dodge County, Franklin County and Jeff Davis County; in Kentucky in Graves County; in Louisiana in Assumption Parish; Point Coupee Parish and Tensas Parish; and in Mississippi in Lamar County and Lee County.

See: National Register of Historic Places – Morgan County Courthouse

County Judicial Center – West Liberty

Location: 518 Main Street / Court Street

Built: 2011 – 2014

Style: Modern

Architect: Murphy + Graves Architects of Lexington

Contractor: Codell Construction Company of Winchester

Description: The building faces south and is a two story brown colored brick, concrete and glass structure. The bottom portion of the building is white colored concrete and the upper part is red colored brick with vertical windows and corner windows. On the roof is a square cupola. The courtroom is located on the second story. The building is located on the east side of the courthouse. During construction, the building was severely damaged by a tornado on March 2, 2012.

Courthouses:

N – Rowan County and Elliott County

E – Lawrence County, Johnson County and Magoffin County

S – Magoffin County and Wolfe County

W – Menifee County