York County is named for King James II of England, who was the Duke of York.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Oxford County
S – Atlantic Ocean and Rockingham County, New Hampshire
W – Strafford County, New Hampshire
Created: November 20, 1652 
County Seat:
York 1652 – 1803
York 1803 – 1832
Alfred 1803 – present
County Courthouse – Alfred
Location: 45 Kennebunk Road / Biddeford Road
Built: 1806 – 1807
Style: Colonial Revival
Architect: William Parsons and John Holmes
Contractor: William Parsons and John Holmes
Description: The building faces east and s a two story red colored brick structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Alfred. The building has a large central portico with four large white colored columns rising to a pediment at the roof line. On the center of the roof rises a narrow octagonal white colored cupola with green colored dome. A fire proof addition was built in 1819. The north and south wings were added in 1854. Fire destroyed the center section in 1933 and was rebuilt in 1934. An addition was added in 1956 to 1957. The facade copies the original 1836 courthouse.
New County Courthouse – Biddeford
Location: 511 Elm Street / Travers Street
Built: 2020 – 2023
Style: Modern
Architect: Finegold Alexander Architects of Boston, Massachusetts
Contractor: Consigli Construction of Milford.
Description: The building faces west and is a four story red colored brick and concrete structure. The rectangular shaped building is located on spacious landscaped grounds to the south of the center of Biddeford. The west front has has proecting two story section towards the south end with entrances, The roof line is flat.
History: York was the seat of the Province of Maine. The county was created in 1652 and York was selected as the county seat. The court first met in the York meetinghouse built in 1634. The second meetinghouse was built in 1675. The third meetinghouse was a larger building built in 1712. The first courthouse was built in 1733 to 1735. In 1760, court was held in Biddeford and a courthouse was built in 1792. Court met in Kennebunk in 1800. In 1803, court sessions were moved to Alfred and Alfred was named as the county seat. The court met in the meetinghouse. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1806 to 1807 at a cost of $3,500. A new courthouse was built in York in 1810 to 1811. A Record Office was built in Alfred in 1817 to 1819 at a cost of $3,056.In 1832, York ceased to be a shire town. The cost of the 1854 courthouse wings was $29,272. The new courthouse was constructed in 2020 to 2023 at a cost of $65,000,000.
District Courthouse – Biddeford
Location: 25 Adams Street / Jefferson Street
Built: 1996 – 1998
Style: Modern
Architect: PDT Architects of Portland
Contractor: Nowak Construction of Newcastle
Description: The building faces northwest and is a one story dark red colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located in the center of Biddeford The northwest front has a raised entrance on the first story with high vertical windows divided by concrete pillars. The green colored roof is hipped.
District Courthouse – Springdale
Location: 447 Main Street / Mill Street
Built: 2000 – 2002
Style: Modern
Architect: PDT Architects of Portland
Contractor: Payton Construction Corporation of Saco
Description: The building faces northeast and is a two story red colored brick, concrete and glass structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Springdale. The northeast front has a recessed center section with the main entrance at the northwest corner of the building where there is a small porch. The roof line is flat.
District Courthouse – York
Location: 11 Chase Pond Road / Perkins Drive
Built: Unknown
Style: Modern
Architect: Unknown
Contractor: Unknown
Description: The building faces west and is a two story gray colored siding frame structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in York. The building was constructed for the Transportation Branch and was converted into a courthouse. The west front has a large two story portico supported by two columns. The front entrance has a large fanlight above. The roof line is flat.
County Courthouse – Alfred
District Courthouse – Biddeford
District Courthouse – Springdale
District Courthouse – York
Photos taken 2006 and 2014