Clinton County is named for DeWitt Clinton, who was a Governor of New York and an advocate for the construction of the Erie Canal.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Gratiot County
S – Ingham County and Eaton County
W – Ionia County
Created: March 2, 1831 
County Seat:
De Witt 1839 – 1855
St. Johns 1855 – present
County Courthouse – St. Johns
Location: 100 East State Street / North Clinton Street
Built: 1998 – 2000
Style: Modern
Architect: Wigen, Tincknell, Meyer & Associates
Contractor: Clark Construction Company of Lansing
Description: The building faces north and is a four story red and gray colored brick structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of St. Johns. The north front has a projecting center section with a one story entrance porch on the first story. Above is a high vertical window. The first story is faced with gray colored bricks and the upper stories are red colored brick. On the center of the roof is a square red colored brick clock tower containing the original clock from the old courthouse. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 29th Judicial District, County District Court and County Probate Court. The building houses the City offices.
See: The architect, Wigen, Tincknell, Meyers & Associates, designed courthouses in Ingham County, Montcalm County and Roscommon County. The contractor Clark Construction Company of Lansing constructed courthouses in Ingham County, Livingston County and Montcalm County.
See: The 29th Judicial District includes Gratiot County.
History: The county was created in 1831 and DeWitt was selected as the county seat in 1839 when the county was organized. The first meeting of the court was held in the home of David Scott in DeWitt from 1840 to 1847 which was the first courthouse. A schoolhouse was rented from 1847 to 1855 as the second courthouse and court was held in the Baptist Church. The county seat was moved to St. Johns in 1855. In 1857, the third courthouse was Plumstead Hall and in 1858 the fourth courthouse, a brick structure was built at a cost of $2,000. The fifth courthouse was designed by Oliver Hidden of Bay City and constructed by David Gibb in 1871 for a cost of $35,345. In 1998 the courthouse was demolished and the county moved to the Southpoint Mall until the sixth and present courthouse was constructed in 1998 to 2000 at a cost of $17,400,000.
See: Michigan’s County Courthouses by John Fedynsky
County Courthouse - St. Johns
Photos taken 2008