As a Mount Vernon, Illinois attorney, I travel throughout the state practicing law and meeting with clients about topics ranging from bankruptcy to estate law, from divorce to litigation. In my travels, I enjoy seeing the courthouses in our county seats. Occasionally in my blog I will stop to describe these wonderful buildings and the towns and cities in which they set.
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From Wikipedia:
Clinton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,762. Its county seat is Carlyle (population 3,281).
In 1805, prior to the establishment of the county, the territorial government established a post road from its capital (Vincennes, Indiana) to St. Louis, Missouri, passing through the county.[4] In 1808 a wagon road was laid out through what is now Clinton County. The road extended from the Goshen Settlement to the Ohio salt works and crossed the Kaskaskia River at Carlyle.
Clinton County was created on December 27, 1824 out of Washington, Fayette, and Bond Counties. It was named in honor of the seventh Governor of New York, DeWitt Clinton, who helped build the Erie Canal.
Crossing the Kaskaskia became much easier when the bridge now known as the General Dean Suspension Bridge was built in 1859, at a cost of $40,000. Before the bridge was constructed travelers had been forced to cross by ferry or over a mud bridge. The Illinois General Assembly set aside $20,000 for bridge restoration in 1951 and in 1953 the bridge was named after William F. Dean.
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In 1811 or 1812, a man named John Hill built one of several “block” houses along the Goshen Trail, located at what is currently 201 Fairfax Street. The houses were reportedly built to serve as a line of defense against Native Americans. John Hill built the first house to be located in what has become Carlyle. He also established what could be considered Carlyle’s first business: a ferry to carry traffic across the Kaskaskia River, including a small shelter at the river which served as a toll house.
In 1816, Charles Slade and two of his brothers reached the John Hill settlement and bought him out. Charles farmed the land, took over the ferry, and within a year partnered with a man named Hubbard to start the first store, a mercantile business located at what is now 301 Fairfax Street. In 1818, a man named Calvin Barnes laid out town lots. On March 10, 1819, a post office was first established under the name Carlisle, Illinois. This spelling might have been a clerical error.
The area was settled after the 1809 creation of the Illinois Territory but before Illinois achieved statehood, six to seven years after John Hill had already built his establishment. Illinois’ first state capitol was located in Kaskaskia, but in 1820 the state decided that it should be moved. Carlyle lost to Vandalia by one vote. In 1824, the State of Illinois created Clinton County by carving it out of Washington, Bond, and Fayette counties. Carlyle was to be the county seat should land be donated for this purpose. Charles Slade donated 20 acres (8.1 ha) of property so that the county seat would be located in Carlyle.
Carlyle was founded in 1818 by Charles W. Slade, father of Joseph “Jack” Slade, who named the town after his grandmother’s family. It may have been founded in 1818 but it was incorporated as a town on 2/10/1837 and incorporated as a city on 4/17/1884. Carlyle celebrated 150 years and used the 1837 date.
Charles Slade pushed hard for Carlyle to become the state capital of Illinois, but lost by one vote to Vandalia in 1819. In 1824, Clinton County was formed, and Carlyle became the county seat in July 1825, both at the initiative of Charles Slade.
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The Clinton County Courthouse is a government building in Carlyle, the county seat of Clinton County, Illinois, United States. Built in 1999, this new structure is the county’s third courthouse; it replaced a building that had been in use since the 1840s.
The major territorial road from Shawneetown to Kaskaskia was constructed in 1808, and settlers soon began to take advantage of improved transportation by claiming lands near the road. Squatters began arriving in 1809, but the advance of civilization was retarded by the depredations of Indian bands, and only after the end of the War of 1812 could settlement occur on a more widespread basis. Carlyle’s foundation predated the war, consisting of a blockhouse fort to protect local settlers. Clinton County has never experienced a county seat war, as Carlyle has been the seat ever since the county’s establishment in 1824.
Clinton County’s obscure first courthouse was used until the construction of a replacement in 1849. This was a two-story brick structure in the shape of the letter “I”, with a three-bay central projection that included the main entrance and side rooms. Built of brick with corner pilasters, it was covered with a mansard roof supported by brackets under the eaves. Its arches were placed over each of the windows, most of which were single, although the doorways sat under larger double windows, and a triangular dormer window was placed in a small tower over the entrance. This building remained in use until 1997, after which Clinton County functioned without a courthouse for two years. Its replacement, the current structure, was completed in 1999 under the direction of Phillips Swager Associates and Kuhlmann Design Group; a modernist building, it features a concrete first story and two upper stories of brick with concrete belt courses and pilasters on the corners. A central glass section that rises from ground to roof, broken only by the belt course between the second and third stories; aside from this, the windows are plain and rectangular
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How odd to go into a modern courthouse! Well, by “new” I mean a courthouse built in 1997-9, but it was (and still is) new to me! I appeared in Clinton County many times before I focused exclusively in bankruptcy in 1995. The old courthouse was of typical design with its +-shaped first floor with the courtroom in the western wing at the end of the hallway. Now it is thoroughly modern – impressive high lobby with open balconies on the second and third floors and modern and comfortable courtrooms.
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About the blogger:
Michael Curry of Curry Law Office in Mount Vernon, Illinois (http://michaelcurrylawoffice.com/) has helped thousands of individuals, family and small businesses in southern Illinois find protection under the Bankruptcy Code for almost twenty-five years. He is also available to help individuals and families with their estate planning (wills, power-of-attorney) and real estate and other sales transactions.
He is also the author of books on finance and bankruptcy available on Kindle through Amazon!
Whether you live in Grayville, West Salem, Centralia or anywhere in Southern Illinois call Curry Law Office today at (618) 246-0993 and Finally Be Financially Free!
You can also access my website at http://www.mtvernonbankruptcylawyer.com
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