Route Fifty City-County Roadtrip Recap: Four County Courthouses in Ohio
An architectural detail from the Wayne County Courthouse in Wooster, Ohio. Michael Grass / RouteFifty.com
When relying on mnemonic navigation, using county courthouses as points of reference can be quite useful.
Route Fifty is currently featuring dispatches from a city-county summer roadtrip in Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and elsewhere along the way. An Introduction to the Series | Previous Stop: East Liverpool, Ohio
WOOSTER, Ohio — When I pulled into this college town around sunset, I was highly disappointed. Not because of Wooster itself (it’s a nice town, for sure).
The two reasons why I wanted to stop off in Wooster were scuttled: First, I had arrived way too late to enjoy a roadtrip pit-stop at the Tulipán Hungarian Pastry and Coffee Shop , which was already closed for the day. And second, the Wayne County Courthouse, which is an amazing historic Second Empire-style edifice built in the 1870s, was shrouded in scaffolding.
A nice building, eh?
Fortunately, I’ve passed through Wooster on previous travels and have examined the architecture up close. This is what the building’s amazing Atlantes—instead of Atlas holding up the sky, Atlantes are holding up an entranceway—look like close up.
The courthouse is undergoing a $5.5 million renovation .
When you’re driving across Ohio without a map and are relying on mnemonic navigation, using county courthouses as points of reference can be quite useful. Driving into town, they’re often hard to miss—just head toward the tall clocktower, dome or cupola. They often occupy some sort of courthouse square, sit adjacent to an important crossroads or sit on an elevated piece of property.
In Wooster, the courthouse looms over the main crossroads, Market and Liberty streets.
In Steubenville, Ohio, the Jefferson County Courthouse sits at 3rd and Market streets , near the Market Street Bridge, a historic Ohio River suspension span to West Virginia.
In Cadiz, Ohio, the Harrison County Courthouse sits atop a hilly portion of town where Main and Market streets meet. (It too was undergoing renovations when I passed through town.)
In New Philadelphia, Ohio, the Tuscarawas County Courthouse sits at Broadway and High streets .
Next Stop: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Michael Grass is Executive Editor of Government Executive's Route Fifty.
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