Marion County | US Courthouses

Marion County is named for Francis Marion, who was a general in the American Revolutionary War and who lived from 1732 to 1795.

Surrounding County Courthouses:

N – Alachua County and Putnam County

E – Putnam County, Volusia County and Lake County

S – Lake County, Sumter County and Citrus County

W – Levy County

Created: March 14, 1844

County Seat:

Ocala 1844 – present

County Courthouse – Ocala

Location: 110 NW 1st Avenue / NW 2nd Street

Built: 1963 – 1965 / 1990 – 1991 / 2007 – 2010

Style: Modern

Architect: J Vance Duncan and Kemp and Bunch & Jackson of Ocala

Contractor: Dunn Construction Company of Birmingham, Alabama

Description: The building faces south and is a three phase construction of concrete and glass located in the center of Ocala. The first phase was a three story square shaped structure facing south and constructed in 1963 to 1965 on the west side. The first story has recessed sections with glass walls and the second and third stories have vertical dividers with vertical windows. The roof line is flat. The architect was J Vance Duncan and Kemp and Bunch & Jackson of Ocala and the contractor was Dunn Construction Company of Birmingham, Alabama. In the center is the five story addition constructed in 1990 to 1991. The building has glass sections and a flat roof line. The architect was Design Group. In 2007 to 2010, the east section was completed. The southeast front has a recessed three story section with three concrete columns and glass panel wall. The windows on the fourth and fifth stories are horizontal. The roof line is flat. The architect was Architecture Studio Inc. and Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum and the contractor was Moss Construction and Elbridge Construction. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 5th Judicial Circuit and County Court. The building is named as the Marion County Judicial Center.

Note: The courthouse project, undertaken by Moss Construction and Elbridge Construction, began in October 2007 with a budgeted cost of $42 million and was completed at more than $1 million under budget. Supported by 70 steel shafts that are anchored 105 feet below ground, the new five-story complex took three years to build and is the largest capital project in the history of Marion County.

See: The 5th Judicial Circuit includes Citrus County, Hernando County, Lake County and Sumter County.

See: The county is located in the Fifth Judicial District of the Court of Appeal – Fifth Judicial District located in Daytona Beach.

History: The county was created in 1844 and Ocala was selected as the county seat in 1846. The first courthouse was a small one story log structure built in 1846 by James Caruthers on South Main Street at Fort King Street. The second courthouse was a two story structure built in 1885. The third courthouse was a two story structure designed by W Chamberlain and constructed by M T Lewman in 1907. The fourth courthouse was designed by Kemp, Bush & Jackman and constructed by Dunn Construction Company in 1963 to 1965. An addition was designed by Architects Design Group in 1990 to 1991. A further addition was designed by Architects Studios Inc. and Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaun and constructed by Moss and Associates and Ethridge Construction in 2007 to 2010.