Seneca County Courthouse
Tiffin, Seneca County – on list since 2005
A multi-year saga is nearing a conclusion in Tiffin, as the local county commissioners are readying for demolition, while at the same time allowing an independent body to create and present a plan for courthouse renovation.
At issue is the Seneca County Courthouse, which is poised to become the first 19th century Ohio courthouse to be lost in over 35 years. As we reported in the 2007 List of Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Places,
“The Seneca County Courthouse, which sits majestically in the middle of Downtown Tiffin, was constructed beginning in 1884 at a cost in excess of $200,000. The building was designed by Elijah E. Myers, a Detroit architect who designed no less than four US state capitol buildings – the Idaho Territorial Capitol (1885), and the current state capitol buildings in Michigan (1879), Colorado (1887) and Texas (1882). Myers is probably one of the foremost architects to design an Ohio county courthouse, and the result was spectacular. The courthouse was classically designed, and topped with a massive clock tower. In the 1940s, the outer portion of the clock tower was removed, and although the original structure remains underneath, it was covered by a modern exterior.
Seneca County Commissioners have voted to proceed with demolition. If this occurs, it would be the first demolition of a 19th century Ohio county courthouse in a generation. As other counties look to the future of their own historic courthouses, ignoring the full value of the Seneca County Courthouse to the community in which it sits could set a dangerous precedent in other Ohio county seat towns.
It would be impossible to overestimate the loss of this iconic building would have on the revitalization of historic Downtown Tiffin, with resulting negative impact to the entire community. County courthouses serve as symbols of civic pride, and of faith in both tradition and the future – and can also serve as a centerpiece of successful revitalization efforts. Investment in this building would provide untold benefit; its loss would have impact far beyond what the Commissioners have considered.”
Commissioners have a suit pending against the City of Tiffin, which requests the local Common Pleas Court to rule that they have engaged in a meaningful attempt to comply with the local architectural review ordinance in seeking demolition. Preservation Ohio is participating in that suit as an amicus curiae party; click here for that story.
As noted before, the Seneca County Courthouse Development Group, headed by preservation consultant Franklin Conaway, is presently at work to provide a design and funding package to commissioners by a July 15 deadline. The situation in Tiffin is critical and can change quickly, so for the latest details, it is best to check the reporting of the Toledo Blade and Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune as noted below.
Videos: Please note that these videos are presented here for public interest only, and the opinions expressed therein are not necessarily the viewpoints of Preservation Ohio.
Links for Additional Information:
Complete List – 2009 Ohio’s Most Endangered Historic Sites
NOTE - There have been dozens of newspaper articles surrounding the planned demolition of the Seneca County Courthouse – so many, in fact, that it is difficult to keep up with them. To stay up-to-date with this story, we recommend the following links:
Tiffin Advertiser-Tribune (search in Local News using the word “courthouse”)
Toledo Blade (search in “Last 30 days search” using phrase “Seneca County Courthouse”)
