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:
S – Taylor County and Harrison County
W – Wetzel County
Created: January 14, 1842 
County Seat:
Fairmont 1842 – present
County Courthouse – Fairmont
Location: 219 Adams Street / Jefferson Street
Built: 1897 – 1900
Style: Beaux Arts
Architect: Joseph Warren Yost and Frank L Packard of Columbus, Ohio
Contractor: Westwater and Company of Columbus, Ohio and C A Abernathy
Description: The building faces southeast and is a two story buff colored brick, stone and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Fairmont. The building has a raised basement. The southeast front has a large portico with six Corinthian columns rising to a wide pediment at the roof line. Within the tympanum are decorative figures of scales, an eagle with outstretched wings, a mining car, a shovel and a male figure representing justice, power, agriculture and mining. There are porticos on the north and south sides. On the center of the roof is a large dome with clock and small cupola at the top where the Statue of Lady Justice stands. Around the roof line is a balustrade. In the interior, a two story rotunda is beneath the dome. The corridor roofs are barrel-vaulted and contain twenty-five coffers, nine of which are filled with stained glass. The corridors run in an east-west axis and north-south axis. The rotunda dome has an elaborate sixteen-panel stained glass skylight. Plaster mouldings embellish the arched openings of the rotunda. The courtroom is located on the second story and has a balcony flanked on each side with four Ionic columns. A huge stained glass dome is centered above the courtroom and a rectangular stained glass skylight is centered above the judge’s bench. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 16th Judicial Circuit and Family Court. The building was renovated in 1960. The contractor was L D Schmidt. On the west side are the Old County Sheriff’s Residence (1910) with jail, Jacob Annex Building (1903) and Hutcheson Annex Building (1902). On the north side is the J Harper Meredith Building.
City-County Building – Fairmont
Location: 200 Jackson Street / Jefferson Street
Built: 1980 – 1982
Style: Modern
Architect: Silling Associates Inc. and Gruzen & Partners
Contractor: Mellon-Stuart Company of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania
Description: The building faces northwest and is a four story buff colored brick and concrete structure. The building is located on landscaped grounds on a rise in the center of Fairmont on the north side of the courthouse. Wide concrete bands run horizontal with horizontal windows and brickwork between. The entrance section at the northwest corner is one story. The roof line is flat. In the interior, the Magistrate Court courtroom is located on the second story. The building is named as the J Harper Meredith Building and houses the City Hall.
History: The county was created in 1842 and Fairmont was selected as the county seat. The first court met at the home of William Kerr and at the Methodist Episcopal Church on Washington Street. The first courthouse was red colored brick Greek Revival structure built by Daniel Thompson in 1843 to 1844 at a cost of $3,151. The building was destroyed by a mob in 1897 and razed by Page, Moran and Swisher. The Cunningham and Manley Building became the second courthouse and was purchased from T B Carpenter. The third and present courthouse was constructed in 1897 to 1900 at a cost of $130,643.
County Courthouse – Fairmont
Old County Sheriff’s Residence – Fairmont
Old County Jail – Fairmont
City-County Building – Fairmont
Photos taken 2012