Gratiot County is named for Charles Gratiot, who was the military officer who built Fort Gratiot at the present site of Port Huron.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Isabella County and Midland County
E – Saginaw County
S – Clinton County
W – Montcalm County
Created: March 2, 1831 
County Seat:
Ithaca 1856 – present
County Courthouse – Ithaca
Location: 214 East Center Street / South Main Street
Built: 1900 – 1902
Style: Beaux Arts
Architect: Claire Allen of Jackson
Contractor: A W Mohnke of Grand Rapids
Description: The building faces north and is a two story yellow-brown colored Berea sandstone and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Ithaca. The building has a large portico with three high arches on the first story having Corinthian columns and on the second story is a balcony with three windows and above is a decorated pediment. The east and west corners have square towers with low peaked roofs. On the center of the roof is a high square clock tower with columns, dome and small cupola at the top. In 1905, the clock was installed by N Johnson of Manistee. In the interior, there are dark stained wainscoting, metal ceilings and fireplaces, and at the center is a rotunda. The second story has an arched gallery around the rotunda. The magnificent courtroom on the second story has rich wood work, cream colored walls and backboard carvings of Justice and judicial ornamentation behind the judge’s bench. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 29th Judicial District and County Probate Court. The supervisor was Jere Marks of St. Louis, Missouri.
See: The architect, Claire Allen of Jackson, also designed courthouses in Hillsdale County, Shiawassee County and Van Buren County.
See: National Register of Historic Places – Gratiot County Courthouse
County Judicial Building – Ithaca
Location: 245 East Newark Street / South Main Street
Built: 1994 – 1995
Style: Modern
Architect: Giffel Consultants Inc. of Southfield and John Dziurman
Contractor: Heartland PSC, Inc. of Lansing.
Description: The building faces south and is a two story buff colored brick, glass and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Ithaca on the south side and attached to the courthouse. The south entrance has a concrete lattice wall with overhang at the doorway. The west section is two stories and the east section is one story. The building houses the County District Court.
See: The 29th Judicial District includes Clinton County.
History: The county was created in 1831 and Ithaca was selected as the county seat in 1856 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was q two story log structure built by John Jeffery in 1856 and donated to the county. The second courthouse was a two story wooden structure built by William C Beckwith in 1870 at a cost of $10,000. The building was later dismantled and used to build the home of Archie McCall at 207 North Pine Street. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1900 to 1901 at a cost of $74,103. The County Judicial Building was constructed in 1994 to 1995 at a cost of $3,000,000.
See: Michigan’s County Courthouses by John Fedynsky
County Courthouse - Ithaca
Photos taken 2008