St. Joseph County is named for Saint Joseph, who is the patron saint of New France.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Kalamazoo County
E – Branch County
S – LaGrange County, Indiana and Elkhart County, Indiana
W – Cass County
Created: October 29, 1829 
County Seat:
White Pigeon 1829 – 1830
Lockport Village 1830 – 1831
Centreville 1831 – present
County Courts Building – Centreville
Location: 125 Main Street / South Clark Street
Built: 1974 – 1975
Style: Modern
Architect: Kammeraad Stroop Van Der Leek, Inc.
Contractor: Johnson-Klein Inc. and Claude M Wade
Description: The building faces south and is a two story reddish colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on the spacious landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Centreville with the courthouse located on the north side. Rounded vertical pillars run along the side of the building. On the south a central rounded tower has a portico on the east and west supported by square pillars. The windows are narrow and horizontal. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 45th Judicial District, County District Court and County Probate Court. The building is named as the County Courts Building.
County Courthouse – Centreville
Location: 125 Main Street / South Clark Street
Built: 1899 – 1900
Style: Romanesque Revival
Architect: Sydney J Osgood of Grand Rapids
Contractor: Crookshank and Somers
Description: The building faces north and is a three story red colored brick, sandstone and concrete structure. The building is located on the spacious landscaped grounds of the Courthouse Square in the center of Centreville. The building has a raised basement of course stone. The central tower rises seventy five feet with a large clock. In the interior there are marble floors, wide staircases, ornately carved woodwork and frosted glass doors. The old courtroom on the second story has been restored for use by the County Commissioners and has a vaulted ceiling and wood furnishings. The building is connected on the south side by a glass corridor to the County Courts Building. The building was renovated in 1995 to 1997. The architect was Wigen, Tinckell, Meyer & Associates, Inc. of Saginaw and the contractor was Clark Construction Company of Lansing.
History: The county was created in 1829 and White Pigeon was selected as the county seat. In 1829 and the court met at Asahel Savery’s tavern and later at the White Pigeon Academy. In 1830 the county seat moved to Lockport Village. Centreville was named as the county seat in 1831 and the county rented offices in a frame house on the corner of Main Street and Clark Street.. The first courthouse was a two story wooden structure designed by Judge Connor and built by John Bryan in 1841 to 1842 at a cost of $7,000. An office building was built in 1859 to 1860 at a cost of $3,200. The second and present courthouse was constructed in 1899 to 1900 at a cost of $34,419. The County Courts Building was constructed in 1974 to 1975 at a cost of $1,300,000.
See: Michigan’s County Courthouses by John Fedynsky
County Courts Building – Centerville
County Courthouse – Centreville
Photos taken 2008